Final Fantasy, the chronicles of Four!
by DoraCatBuu
Summary: A chronicle of my party on FF1. Funny stuff happens to them on their adventure. Stars are White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, and Thief!
1. And so it begins

Ah, a new fanfic from me! And it isn't even about YGO!

Okay, for a disclaimer, I don't own FF1, and the plot is based on my game, and anything I decided to add. You ready for some FF1 fun?

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"ARGH! This is the worst ale I've ever tasted!" The bartender looked up to see a burly young man with red hair and red armor slam his mug down. Looking across, he found some more people around the same age.

"Fighter, maybe you should calm down. Ale isn't everything." said a young girl with white robes. She gestured for Fighter to sit down.

"But ale is the plus of being a hero, White Mage! That... and swords!" Fighter said, sitting down. He looked across at a blonde wearing a bandana. "So, why are we here, anyway?"

"Recent calculations tell me that we're out of gold. Well, that's what Red Mage said anyway." the blonde replied, sipping some cocoa. Next to him, a white-haired boy with a red hat stood up.

"As the Red Mage, it's my job to make sure we have what we need! And right now we need money, or we can't leave this tiny town." Red Mage explained, "So I called Thief and he said he got an idea." Red Mage pointed to the blonde, who was obviously Thief. Thief took out a flyer.

"I found this the other day. It's something about the Light Warriors." Thief said. White Mage took the flyer and read it. Then she gave it to a young man with a pointy yellow hat.

"Oh yeah, I heard of this. My grandpa told me about this kind of thing. Four warriors go to re-light four orbs or something like that. Sounds a little farfetched if you ask me, though." he said. Fighter took a swig of his ale and stood up.

"This is right up our alley! We can go beat up the baddies!" Fighter exclaimed, but Black Mage shook his head.

"There's the problem with money." Black Mage sighed, "Without money, we can't afford anything to beat stuff with."

"But don't you have magic?!" Fighter asked, "It'll be cool!"

"No, we have one magic point. We don't have any scrolls." Red Mage replied. Black Belt shrugged, and drank his water.

"I don't need weapons, so I can just fight with no problem." he said, and began punching air. Black Mage sat back down, and took out what appeared to be a rock.

"And what happens if you meet a Golem? Your fists won't do squat to one of those things." Black Mage said, "Which leads to the fact that there can only be four of us. Two of us are gonna stay here." Everyone looked down thoughtfully.

"So first thing is first. We must decide who's going." White Mage said, "Since BM and I can use our own class of magic with very little effort, we should be two members." Black Mage nodded.

"Then that leaves the four of us..." Thief stated, "And each of us brings something to the group... Maybe Fighter should go too. He's the best with a weapon, and with only mages so far, we need a power boost."

"But Fighter will be too busy thinking about swords instead of using them!" Black Mage yelled, "And besides, Red Mage can fight too."

"Ah, yes, but not with the same intensity as Fighter." White Mage speculated, "But I agree with Thief. Everyone brings something to the group. We need to see exactly what kind of group we'll need for this quest. Then we can decide the logical choice for this kind of situation." Fighter stood up again, and took out his sword.

"Logical choice? All we have to do is swing our swords at a few monsters and we'll win!" Fighter exclaimed, "What's there to think about?" White Mage closed her eyes as she thought of a simple way to prove her point.

"Well, let's say you're in a cave, and you're in dire need of a Cure spell. As just one person, and more importantly, as the Fighter class, you cannot heal yourself without a mage or a potion. And due to the fact that YOU usually forget to pack potions, swords are not entirely the best choice." White Mage explained. Fighter seemed very distant. He'd never heard that swords weren't the answer.

"That's well put, WM." Red Mage commented, "But as Fighter also put it, we will need some form of pure force to put an end to any fights we may have. Therefore, we will need a sword-wielder, and only Fighter and I qualify for that."

"I vote for keeping RM. He's not as strong as Fighter, but he CAN use both types of magic as well as a sword. As far as versatility, which we'll need for this, the best bet is obviously to have RM with us." Black Mage said, "But of course that's just my opinion."

"And it's a good one. I see your point." White Mage replied, sipping her tea, "So, who thinks RM should go?" Everyone but Fighter raised their hands. Fighter shrugged and sat down.

"It's for the best to the team. I don't mind. Now all you need is a fourth member. That does leave me, Thief, and BB." Fighter said. White Mage nodded, and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"We have a magical force strong enough to wipe out an army! So now we just need a pure fighting force. Black Mage, since you are second to be picked and I put in RM's position, do you have anything to suggest?" White Mage asked, looking at her friend. Black Mage got up and paced around.

"It's a tough one, WM. All three of them serve very good purposes. Fighter is like a big shield, which is something we'll need. But money is the problem, and BB doesn't need a ton of armor like Fighter will. Thief is the medium between the two. Whereas BB lacks the defense to prove that we'll last in a fight, and Fighter's armor is just too expensive, Thief can make good use of our resources. I think he'd do well with what we have." Black Mage stated.

"Plus I can steal too. I am a Thief, after all." Thief said.

"That makes sense, the four of you." Black Belt commented, thoughtfully, "And I guess it'll be best that Fighter and I stay here. This is a small town, as RM said, and with the imps that are out there, someone needs to stay here and keep the villagers safe."

"So it's decided?" Black Mage asked. Everyone nodded, except Fighter. "Fighter?"

"Not until you promise to send me all the swords you don't use." Fighter pouted, crossing his arms. Black Mage sighed.

"Fine, you can have whatever junk we either don't need or can't sell. Are you happy?!" Clearly, Black Mage was getting annoyed. Fighter nodded and jumped around happily. Black Mage opened the bar door to the outside.

"We'll be seeing you." Black Belt said, as the four chosen youths headed out the door. Fighter wiped the tears away, seeing his friends leave.

"I'll miss them, BB... But they'll come back heroes, and that's more than I'll ask for." Fighter said, crying on Black Belt's shoulder.

------

"So, I think the best bet would be to head to Corneria. That's where this flyer came from." Thief said, showing the back of the flyer. Indeed, there was a big MADE IN CORNERIA printed on it. Black Mage strode ahead, unfazed.

"Blah, that town is child's play. They only have the weakest spells, and we need to do this quick!" Black Mage said. Red Mage took out his short sword, and threw it up in the air.

"I'd disagree here, BM. We don't know anything beyond level 1, so even if we went to Pravoca first, we couldn't learn a thing." he said, catching his sword, "Besides, we should probably ask the king why he'd call for the Light Warriors anyway."

"It'd save us the time if we asked him, that's for sure." White Mage added, "He could even supply us with better weapons, I'd bet." Thief smirked.

"If not, I could just steal from him!" Thief whistled. White Mage hit him lightly with her hammer.

"Thief, this is not for you to fill your bags with riches. This is for the good of the world." White Mage reminded him. Black Mage gave a heavy laugh.

"Good of the world?! WM, don't make me laugh. We signed up originally for money, right?" Black Mage asked. White Mage gave him an angry glare. "All right... I see this is bugging you. While I hate to think I'm doing this for the good of the world, I'll accept it as a plus if we manage to live through this." White Mage settled down, but it wasn't long until she tensed up again.

"WM, what's wrong?" Red Mage asked when he noticed White Mage was looking around frantically. She turned to him nervously.

"I... think something is following us!" she replied, shivering.

"It's probably an imp or something. Ignore it and it might go away." Black Mage said, as he continued to walk towards Corneria. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked and saw a Giant glaring down at them.

"An imp, huh?!" Thief stated, sarcastically. White Mage took out a small traveling book and examined it carefully.

"How odd. Giants aren't supposed to even be in this region! So, what's one doing here?" she asked, putting the book away.

"Who cares WHY it's here! Just _RUN THE HELL AWAY FROM IT!!_" Black Mage screamed. Obviously, the four youths ran for their lives, the Giant wasn't too far behind them either.

"So, who has any idea how to beat it?" Thief asked, as they ran faster. The Giant stomped and made the ground beneath the foursome tremble. They all fell over and hugged each other defensively. "Sharing it now would be a great idea!"

"Well, seeing as how we have no weapons, no items, and no magic, I'd say we're as dead as Lich himself." Red Mage replied. Thief's jaw dropped.

"_That's_ your great idea?! You had a sword earlier! Why can't you use it and stab the thing to death?!" Thief asked angrily.

"Because that was just a toy sword from my little cousin!" Red Mage screamed back.

"Why do you carry it if it won't help us in any way?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. Red Mage took out his toy sword and hugged it.

"Sentimental value..." he replied, "Okay, enough play. Somehow we have to find a way to outrun it. It'll be suicide if we try to fight with our fists."

"We know that already, Mr. Point-out-the-obvious! But how are we gonna do that!?" Black Mage asked, getting just as annoyed as Thief.

"That's what I'm working on. We have a rock, so if we can hurl it at the Giant's eyes, it might just blind the thing long enough for us to run to Corneria." Red Mage explained, "Thief, since you have the highest ACCURACY stat, you should probably throw the rock." Red Mage handed Thief a good-sized rocked.

"Woo. Okay guys, give me the strength to help my friends." Thief said, taking the rock. He closed his eyes in concentration, and with all his faith and might, Thief threw the rock. It flew through the air, and sure enough it slammed right into the Giant's eyes. The beast roared in pain and fell backwards, making the earth rumble again.

"Everyone okay?" White Mage asked as the dust from the rumble cleared. Black Mage angrily picked up a pebble and threw it at Red Mage's head.

"_DON'T EVER SUGGEST THAT AGAIN!_ What are you, psychotic?!" Black Mage yelled, crossing his arms. Red Mage rubbed where the rock hit him.

"At least I got rid of it, right?" he cried defensively. Thief got up from where he fell.

"Okay, we won our first battle. Now can we PLEASE get to Corneria?" he asked, looking around, "You don't know the kind of stress of having everyone's lives depend on your ACCURACY score." Black Mage chuckled.

"Stress? How about the fact that we had to _run from a giant_?! Well, anyway, you're right. WM, where are we, anyway?!" Black Mage asked. True, everyone had run off course because of their "little friend." White Mage took out a map.

"Hmm... it says we're pretty close, but I don't see anything." White Mage replied. Red Mage lowered his head in frustration and pointed behind White Mage.

"Did you try looking _behind_ you?" he asked. White Mage turned around, and saw the majestic town of Corneria.

"Oh! Er... thank you, RM!" White Mage blushed slightly from embarrassment. Red Mage lowered his hat gracefully.

"Tis a pleasure, WM." he said, bowing. White Mage nodded shyly. Black Mage sighed, and put his hands on his hips.

"As much as I love this little crush of yours, can we go to the Inn already!? I'm tired!" Black Mage yelled, stomping into the city. The other three looked at each other, and blinked. Then they walked into the city to look for Black Mage.

Black Mage sat at the counter in the Inn, glaring at the innkeeper.

"Look, lady. I only have 5 gil. Can't you give me a discount?!" Black Mage asked, frustrated at his day. The innkeeper shook her head.

"I'm sorry, sir. But with the tax on tea now, I can't afford it!" she said. Black Mage spat.

"But WE can't afford THIS!" Black Mage said, trying to choke back a scream. His friends entered after a minute.

"BM, what's going on here?" Thief asked. Black Mage explained what was going on. Thief laughed. "That's it? Listen, I got 30 gil from that giant before we left, so we're covered for the night." Thief turned to the innkeeper, "The key to the room, ma'am?"

"Enjoy your stay, sir." The innkeeper gave Thief the key to room 2A. The foursome headed upstairs into their tiny hotel room.

"Ahhh, finally! Some sleep!" Black Mage exclaimed happily, flopping himself onto a bed. Red Mage sat in a chair.

"Perhaps after we rest, we should think about how we're going to get the money for new weapons." he suggested.

"Eh, I'm sure the king will help us." Thief said, "Good night, guys." With that, Thief turned out the lights and the four slept for the night....

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Well, there's the first chapter! Will the foursome get the help they so desperately need? And what about Fighter and BB? I'll update this once I get reviews or get farther in FF1! Please review!!!


	2. To the Temple, you fools!

And so the second chapter in my warriors' lives! Mimic 12355, thanks for reviewing! I hope for you to read more! And as a footnote, I do not own FF1 or any characters in this story.

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"I'm not saying it." Black Belt said, sitting across from Fighter in the Creaky Door tavern. Fighter held up five playing cards.

"You have to say it, BB! We can't finish this game if you don't!" Fighter exclaimed. A few people stopped to stare at the two warriors as they were locked in a game of wits. Black Belt sighed.

"Okay... This goes against me, but I'll say it." Black Belt said, leering at the table, "...Go fish." With that, Fighter happily drew a card from the pile.

"See? I knew you could say it!" Fighter chirped happily.

"Hey, if our friends are out there in the face of danger, don't you find it disturbing that we're playing cards?" Black Belt asked. Fighter nodded, and they both looked towards the door.

"BARKEEP! Another round on our table!" They both yelled, shrugging.

-

It was a bright day as the four heroes walked out of Corneria Inn.

"Man, this stinks! We're going to see the king, and we have no proof of who we are!" Black Mage ranted as they walked towards the castle gates, "The king would have to be _blind_ to let us go out on such a quest!" Thief looked towards the small battle guild as they passed.

"I could rob that guild. I'd score us some cheap, strong hero-wear in no time. Then we'd be convincing _and _ready to kick butt!" Thief exclaimed, simply in glee of his idea. White Mage sighed, placing her hand on her forehead.

"The point of being a hero is to help the people, not rob them blind, Thief..." she said. Red Mage pulled back to stay in line with the other three.

"Not like we'd have much time. We've been talking so much that we're already at the gates." Red Mage added. Surely enough, the foursome were at the rather majestic gate to Corneria Castle, but the gate seemed harmless compared to the guard that was standing in front of it.

"Leave this to me." Black Mage commanded, and walked up to the guard, "Out of my way! I'm here to see the king." The guard didn't budge.

"Sorry, but the king is interviewing for the Light Warriors right now. You'll have to wait about two weeks to see him." the guard said. Red Mage walked up towards Black Mage.

"But we _are_ the Light Warriors." Red Mage said, "Here's the proof." Red Mage showed the guard four lifeless orbs. The guard examined them carefully. He seemed to have a hard time deciding whether to let the heroes inside.

"We'll see what the king says. You may pass." The guard got out of the way, so the four youths walked into the castle. Another guard came and led them up the stairs towards the king's room. The king looked very upset, and the sight of the four youths didn't seem to make him feel much better.

"Who are you four?" he asked, though he sounded very tired. Red Mage stepped away from the group towards the throne, and knelt respectively.

"We are but four heroes, seeking to fulfill the prophecy of the orbs. I know you may have doubts, but we do have four orbs with us." he said, and once again handed over the four lifeless orbs. The king sighed with boredom.

"Says you and all of the other people I've sent to rescue my daughter. Anyone with a crystal thinks they are heroes, but the true proof lies within the Temple of the Fiends." the king explained, giving the orbs back. Black Mage put his hands on his hips.

"I'm guessing we have to go to this temple and retrieve something. What it is, a cup?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. My daughter, Princess Sara, was captured by the evil knight, Garland. If you can manage to defeat Garland, then I'll allow you passage to Pravoca. But if you can't, then you will sadly die from his onslaught." the king replied. Thief put his fist to his heart.

"We'll do it! We'll save your daughter. But... you can help us out, right?" Thief asked, a little worry showing in his voice. The king shook his head.

"I am truly sorry, warriors. But I have given all of the people before you my greatest of armor and weapon. All I have left are a few magical scrolls. You may take those, all of them. We've no need, for we haven't any mages. But it is the least I can do if you are so willing to help me." the king said, and showed the four a few magic scrolls. When the four youths left the castle, Red Mage was equipped with a Fire and a Sleep spell, White Mage had a Cure and a Harm spell, and Black Mage had another Fire and a Bolt spell.

"Okay, now this really stinks. We have to go to death's door, fight off a probably invincible knight, and we have no potions, nor do we have any weapons!" Black Mage ranted again, as the four walked towards the city gates, "At this point, I'm surprised we weren't smeared along the walls by now!"

"At least we have some magic." White Mage said, "So we _can_ fight to some extent."

"And if we're lucky, maybe a few monsters outside have weapons on them." Red Mage added, opening the gates to the outside world. Black Mage stopped suddenly, glaring at Red Mage.

"And what are we going to do then? Ask them for their weapons? Oh, like that'll go well! Oh, hello, Mr. Imp! I have to kill you, but could I use your dagger afterwards? Thbbbt!" Black Mage exclaimed sarcastically, spitting at the end of his sentence.

"Well, at least it's better than not thinking at all, BM!" Red Mage yelled back, "I haven't seen _you_ come up with ANYTHING other than to complain since we left!"

"Uh... guys?" Thief pointed to a shadow in the distance, but no one paid any attention. Red Mage and Black Mage continued to bicker.

"GUYS!" Thief screamed this time, making the two mages jump.

"What?" They both yelled in unison. Thief dragged them over to where he was.

"Monsters. Now we can test RM's theory." Thief said. Black Mage looked to where Thief pointed. He could see three imps and a ghost wandering by. Two of the imps had dirks, the third was carrying a sword, and the ghost wobbled along on a staff.

"If you look, genius, you'll see there are four monsters." Black Mage said.

"And? What's the problem?" Thief asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We only have two spells to kill them with. That's "what's wrong." Black Mage replied, narrowing his eyes. White Mage also spotted the weapons the monsters had with them.

"Although I hate to rob, we do need their weapons. We need a plan to con them out of their wares. Let's think about this." White Mage said, looking at her three companions. Red Mage and Thief were already onto a plan. Black Mage was too busy whining about the lack of a Flare spell.

"Correction... _They'll_ think." White Mage muttered, sitting down.

-

After about half an hour, Thief and Red Mage came up with an ingenious... well, maybe it was a stupid idea. Thief found a rather large box, and made it look like a small concession stand. Up top, Red Mage sat with a net and a guide to better stat increases.

"FREE FOOD! GET YOUR FREE FOOD HERE!" Thief shouted towards the monsters. They looked over at him, and whispered a few things. Behind the "concession stand," White Mage and Black Mage waited, watching carefully.

"I've said it once, I'll say it again. This is a stupid idea." Black Mage said, shaking his head with disapproval. White Mage slapped him lightly.

"Shhhh! They're moving!" she hissed. It was true. The monsters had stopped their discussion and were walking towards the stand.

"And what can I get for you lovely monsters today?" Thief said, wearing an apron and a chef's hat. One imp, who was in gray unlike the others, stepped up.

"We'd like some fish, please. Uncooked would be nice." the imp stated. The ghost mumbled something. "Oh, and a dead squirrel or bird for my friend there."

"I see. Lucky you, you're just in time for the catch of the day!" Thief exclaimed, "RED MAGE, NOW!" Red Mage jumped down and tackled the Gr. Imp. The other monsters started screaming.

"AAAAH! RUN!"

"We've been tricked!"

"I'm too young to die twice!" But Thief also started punching and kicking at the monsters. Within a few minutes, the ghost disappeared, and the imps were lying on the ground, defeated.

"That sure was easy! Well, now we're ready to fight Garland!" Thief exclaimed, signaling to White Mage and Black Mage.

"And Thief and I even gained a level! Talk about luck!" Red Mage added. He handed the team's "new weapons" to the corresponding members. White Mage took the staff, Thief and Black Mage took the two daggers, and Red Mage kept the sword.

"So, anyone have any idea where the Temple of Fiends is?" Thief asked when they continued their journey. White Mage tapped her new staff on the ground.

"I remember Fighter saying something about a temple to the north of here. Why don't we go that way? He might've seen what we're looking for." she said. Black Mage shivered.

"We're going there? Do we really have to?" The other three looked back at Black Mage in surprise. He never backed out of a challenge.

"Why shouldn't we? If what Fighter saw was the temple, why not go? We need to prove ourselves to the king." Red Mage answered, sheathing his sword.

"I know, but there are wolves up there. They attack in packs, and they're mean!" Black Mage explained. Thief chuckled.

"Come on! You're a Black Mage! You have incredible magic and you're worried about _wolves_?" Thief asked, trying to hold back his laughter. Black Mage fiddled his thumbs a bit.

"They're resistant to magic. And they're hard to hit. But you all got to me. We need to do this, so let's go. White Mage, be prepared for some healing." Black Mage said. As they walked further north, Red Mage patted Black Mage's back.

"You're not so evil after all, are you? You're actually going to go through with us." Red Mage said. Black Mage sighed.

"Friends are friends. And if you all are going to throw your lives away, I'm not going to sit there alone. I'm going too." he replied. After a while though, Black Mage started to rethink what he said. The sun had sunk below the forest trees where our heroes had to trek through, and it was growing darker every minute.

"Guys, we've been here for hours. I'm starting to think this was a trick." Black Mage said. Thief sat on a rock, panting a little.

"I agree with BM, here. What if there is no temple, and this is to thin out the line of warriors the king has to see?" Thief asked. White Mage tapped her foot.

"Nonsense! We must go on! Corneria depends on us! We must save the prince... huh?" White Mage stopped as howls slowly pierced the sky. Black Mage shivered again.

"Wolves..." Red Mage said, although everyone got what the sound was. Red Mage drew his new sword as something rustled through the bushes. Thief slowly grabbed his dagger and stalked towards the bush. Suddenly, before anyone could react, a wolf jumped out at Thief!

"THIEF! Are you okay?" White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage were in a panic until the dust cleared. Thief was laughing as the wolf playfully licked his face.

"Aww, isn't he sweet? He's harmless, guys! Nothing to worry about!" Thief said, trying to stop his laughing. The wolf then bounded for Red Mage.

"Harmless! What about the other wolves! I suppose you think _they're_ harmless too?" Black Mage asked, annoyed. Thief nodded.

"Why wouldn't they be? This one's a sweetie!" Thief exclaimed, petting the wolf, "I'm calling it Freddy!" Red Mage once again sheathed his sword. He walked over to the wolf and petted it too, then he looked seriously at Thief.

"We can't keep it. It belongs out here, and we haven't the time for a pet anyway. We need to get to the temple to rescue Sara." he said sternly. Thief sighed sadly and let the wolf go. But as soon as the foursome started walking, the wolf followed them.

"Why is this bag of fleas following us!" Black Mage asked angrily. White Mage took a look at the wolf, although she didn't know the answer either.

"Maybe it likes us!" Thief said, "Now we'll have to keep it!"

"As I said, we haven't the time for a pet, Thief. Do you want it to die if we have to fight something?" Red Mage asked. Thief shook his head quickly. "Then we must let it go. If it chooses to follow us, that's its choice, not ours. Move forward." After that, no one said very much as the team walked through the forest. Night had now fallen, but the faint moonlight did reveal the path out.

"Finally! I thought any longer and we'd rot in that forest!" Black Mage said, running around happily. If he weren't so dignified, he'd start kissing the ground too.

"Well, here's the temple. Think we should go in?" Thief said. As it turned out, the forest led right to the front door to the temple. White Mage looked around.

"Yes. But something bothers me. Don't you find it odd that there are no enemies here, no traps, and not even an ounce of resistance here?" White Mage asked, worriedly. Red Mage nodded and walked under the archway.

"It's as though he wants us to go in. Maybe he's expecting us." Red Mage suggested. Black Mage snorted, irritated by the discussion.

"Yeah, expecting us to get our butts kicked before now." Black Mage added sarcastically, "Well, if that's the case, why don't we show him why we're the Light Warriors." Black Mage headed inside, and soon, the other three followed.

"Geez, you'd think that with him being the most feared villain on the Cornerian continent, his pad would be a little more... dangerous." Black Mage stated, "It's just a big hallway." It was true, the Temple of Fiends was nothing more than one long hallway with locked doors on either side.

"It makes it easier to find Garland, at least." Thief said, "But from the looks of things, I'm guessing he makes up for corny decorations with pure strength. I've never seen more skeletons in my life!" The four heroes stepped cautiously through the hall, as it was littered with bones and skulls from the other warriors who passed here. When they reached the end of the hallway, Red Mage carefully opened up the door to reveal a knight in black armor sitting on a throne.

"I'm guessing that's Garland..." Red Mage said. White Mage nodded.

"And that's probably Princess Sara." she whispered, pointing to a young girl lying on the ground. Thief burst through the door and walked right up to Garland.

"Who dares to enter my domain!" Garland asked angrily. Thief took out his dagger angrily.

"I'm Thief, and I'll kick your sorry butt for capturing the princess!" Thief yelled, doing some weird ninja kung-fu pose.

"We're gonna die..." Black Mage said as he, White Mage, and Red Mage walked up behind Thief. Garland laughed hysterically seeing the four youths.

"You four are brave, I give you that! But you are no match for my strength, children!" Garland exclaimed, literally jumping off of his throne. He landed in front of Thief.

"Yeah, we saw your other "guests" out there. We get that you're strong." Black Mage said, "But did you have to kill them in the hallway?" Garland looked confused for a minute.

"Those warriors from the king? Heavens, I didn't do _that_! My pet dragon, Ruby, must've done that. No one's challenged me for ages!" Garland replied, "I was beginning to wonder if anyone even _cared_ that I kidnapped Sara." He pointed to the sleeping girl next to the throne.

"Okay, beside the point that you haven't harmed her in any way, we'll still have to kill you. Prepare for one nasty fight, dude." Thief said. Everyone readied their weapons.

"Yes, I have been waiting for an adversary of good merit. Let the fight begin!" Garland bellowed, drawing his own sword. Red Mage tried to slash Garland, but Garland gracefully deflected the hit. Thief tried to throw his dagger, but again, Garland was too fast.

"Yeah, yeah. Try to dodge this, helmet head!" Black Mage exclaimed, aiming his only Fire spell at Garland. It was a direct hit, and soon Garland's cape began to ignite! Everywhere in the temple, Garland's screams of "OHMYGOD, THAT'S HOT!" could be heard! White Mage saw this as an opportunity and smashed her staff on Garland's leg. Garland then bent down in pain, while trying to roll on the ground to put out the fire on his cape.

"Is it me, or is this the easiest fight we've ever had thus far?" Red Mage asked, as he and Thief charged to strike the final blows.

"Who cares? I'm not complaining!" Black Mage yelled.

"Yeah, the quicker we get this done, the more money the king will give us for rescuing Sara!" Thief added, and punched Garland in the face. As if from a comic, Garland flew straight through the wall into the pit of spikes on the side of the castle. He held up a white flag.

"Okay! You win! Just take Sara and... actually, do you mind helping me out?" Garland asked. Black Mage sighed as White Mage and Thief ran over to the gigantic hole where the wall used to be.

"Fine. We'll spare you. But just answer this..." Black Mage said, "If you're such an awesome villain, why the heck do you have a pit of spikes on the _side_ of the building instead of _in front_!"

"Do you know how many people try to sneak in here through the window!" Garland shrieked, as Thief helped him out of the pit, "I certainly cannot accept that kind of garbage around here. I too have a reputation to uphold!"

"Yeah, as being the most idiotic loser ever spawned from the lamest planet in the weakest of galaxies... that's you." Black Mage mumbled as Garland dusted himself off.

"Well, seeing as how you've won, you should take Sara and high-tail it before the king sends another warrior for Ruby to eat." Garland said, sitting on the throne again.

"But what about you?" White Mage asked, as Red Mage picked Sara up.

"Oh, just tell the king I died or something." Garland replied simply. Black Mage shrugged.

"Works for me." he said, as the four left the temple. A little while after though, they stopped. Princess Sara had woken up.

"Hmm? Where am I?" she asked, "Last I remember, Garland said I should get some sleep because it was so late." Thief bowed.

"Princess, you've nothing to fear. Garland is gone now." he said, smiling.

"Yeah, we toasted his sorry butt. Literally, you should've seen him!" Black Mage exclaimed excitedly. Princess Sara yawned.

"I see. Well, thank you, kind warriors. My father must be worried. Let's go see him." Sara said, but Red Mage shook his head.

"How? We're about a mile away from Corneria." Red Mage explained. Sara smiled gently.

"I am a descendant of Lady Jane, the legendary white mage in Corneria. I have a warp spell to send us back." she said, and with that, she chanted a few words and the foursome found themselves in the king's room.

"Ah, thank you. You four truly are the Light Warriors. Now, you must go to Pravoca. That is where the quest truly begins." the king said, seeing his daughter.

"What about the reward?" Thief asked, hanging his head.

"Oh yes! I know. It will help you immensely on your journey." the king replied.

"What is it? Gold? Weapons? Magic spells of death?" Black Mage asked, almost jumpy with glee. The king laughed good-naturedly.

"Oh no! It will be a bridge!" the king exclaimed. Everyone else in the room twitched.

"A bridge!"

"Yes. I've been meaning to repair it for years, but you four gave me the push to do so! I hope it'll help you with your journey." the king said.

"Okay, how in the 10 levels of Hell will it help us if you build yourself a bridge!" Black Mage asked, "And what journey are you talking about! We're only saving Sara, and that was it!"

"You mean you don't know the legend?" The four youths shook their heads, "Well, those who defeat Garland are the Light Warriors, and they must re-light the orbs to save the world."

"What does defeating Garland have to do with the orbs?" Red Mage asked. Sara stepped forward.

"That's something we are not yet sure of. You need to go visit Lukahn in Crescent Village, which is to the southwest of here. The journey there will not be easy." Sara explained, "You will need this sometime in the future. It was passed down from queen to princess for centuries." Sara handed Red Mage a very old lute.

"Thank you. We will re-light the orbs. I promise you that." Red Mage said, as he and his friends bid farewell to the king. Sara looked at the sky, towards the fading moon.

"Good luck, my brave warriors..."

-(End of chapter 2)

Well, now that my heroes have saved the princess, what must they do next? Can they make it to the town of Pravoca? And what happened to Garland? Once again, I might not update until I get farther in the game or until I get some reviews. So click the Review button please!


	3. Their first Side Quest

Ah, another chapter to my warriors lives. Mimic 12355, yes, I almost wrote BM saying "damn" but I have to be careful in case little kiddies stumble onto the story! Oh wait... I just contradicted myself. Anyway, as always, I do not own any Final Fantasy games.

Once again, Black Belt and Fighter sat in the Creaky Door Tavern, locked in a game of wits. Well, that is until a young man walked up to them.

"Excuse me, but you two have been in here for the past two days. Shouldn't you go home?" the man asked. Fighter and Black Belt looked up to see a young white mage with white hair and huge brown eyes looking at them. Behind him were a young swordsman with blonde hair, a gunman with brown pointy hair, and a star-headed boy with a black mage hat on.

"Uh... and you are?" Black Belt asked.

"We're warriors, and the barkeep told us to ask you to leave." The white mage explained.

"You're warriors too? Cool! So are our friends!" Fighter said, "So what..." Before Fighter could finish, the ground started rumbling.

"AAAH! Ryou, monsters! Let's move!" The gunman yelled, and the four boys ran out to fight what indeed was a monster. After a few minutes, everything was quiet again.

"I sure hope our friends meet those nice guys." Fighter said brightly, not realizing the boys were killed by the monster, which left.

Meanwhile, our four heroes stood waiting at the foot of King Corneria Bridge, waiting for the workers to finish the final repairs.

"Okay, that'll do it!" the boss of the crew said, "You'll be in Pravoca in no time at all!" He and his motley crew of workers quickly got off the bridge to let the heroes pass.

"Is it me, or does this thing shake an awful lot?" Black Mage asked as they stepped onto the bridge. It wobbled uneasily. Thief shrugged.

"Maybe it's just an old bride!" he suggested. White Mage clung to the railing.

"How can it be old? They repaired it last night!" White Mage exclaimed, as the bridge shook with each step.

"We shouldn't worry. After all, we'll still land in the water if the bridge does collapse." Red Mage said, obviously thinking this would lighten the spirits. Black Mage waved his arms frantically.

"Yeah, in the water that's _FULL OF SHARKS AND SAHAGINS!_" Black Mage screamed, "We'll be killed if we fall in!" He began to hyperventilate as the thought crept into his head. Thief patted Black Mage on the back.

"Don't worry, BM! Never judge a book by its cover! Look, I can even jump on this bridge!" Thief exclaimed, and began to jump up and down like a little kid who ate way too much sugar. The bridge made a lot of uncomfortable cracking sounds.

"Thief, stop! You'll break the bridge!" Red, White, and Black Mage all screamed together. But it was in vain. The rope railings for the bridge snapped, and the bridge began to fall apart. Logs and rope alike were washed away in the river current. The four heroes hung onto the small amount of rope that was left.

"Good going, Thief! Are you an idiot or something?" Black Mage asked, angrily.

"Sorry! How was I supposed to know the bridge would fall?" Thief replied, although it was more of another question than a real reply.

"Look, enough bickering! We must focus our energy on hanging onto the rope!" Red Mage exclaimed, trying to hang onto Thief's leg. Unfortunately, the rope snapped as Red Mage spoke, sending the four plunging into the river.

"Too late!" Black Mage yelled as they each fell into the river.

A while later, Black Mage woke up, mainly because Thief was poking at him. Tiredly, he got up and stretched.

"Where the heck are we?" Black Mage asked, looking around. Thankfully they had all landed on a plot of land that was meant as a fishing spot. To the south, Black Mage could barely make out Corneria Castle.

"Wherever we are, we made it to the other side of the bridge." White Mage replied, "We should be close to Pravoca." Red Mage had woken up and dusted his armor off. He took his cape off and tied it like a small sack. Then he dipped his cape into the river.

"RM, I know we've seen a bunch of weird stuff, but nothing like this... What the hell are you doing?" Black Mage asked, sitting on a rock. Red Mage kept his cape in the water, and when he took it out, there were a few small fish inside the pouch.

"I'm fishing. We're on an adventure, we're going to need to eat at some point." Red Mage said simply, carrying the small bundle over, "BM, start a fire." Black Mage, however, wasn't very keen on this idea.

"Food? We're lost, stranded, and defenseless and you care about FOOD? Why don't we just throw ourselves off a cliff! Or maybe let an ogre eat us! That'll be a blast!" Black Mage ranted, pacing back and forth and making very crazy waving motions to prove his point. Thief sighed and sat forward.

"Look, do you want some food or not? If not, we'll gladly eat your share." Thief said, and began to de-bone a fish. Black Mage knew he'd lost the argument, so he joined his friends and started a small fire.

After they ate and felt better, the four heroes started off to Pravoca again. Red Mage had dried off his cape, and they even caught some more fish for later. The moods improved, and even Black Mage said he thought they'd stand a chance now that they had some form of supplies. However, things didn't stay so merry for long.

"Guys, we have a little problem." Thief said, pointing to two crossroads, "Anyone have any idea which way to the town?" The other three hung their heads as sweatdrops appeared above them.

"Gee, because BOTH ways lead to such extraordinary adventures..." Black Mage remarked sarcastically. Red Mage looked down the left path. White Mage looked down the right.

"The left path is short, but I don't think it leads to Pravoca." Red Mage explained. The left path went down through a small forest to a mountain behind it.

"But this way isn't looking so promising either. It's a long way to Pravoca, and we could use some experience." White Mage added, looking down the left path, "And maybe someone would know which way is to Pravoca anyway."

"So we should just wait here for some poor sap to show up and ask him?" Black Mage asked.

"I never said that. But I think we should go down the left pathway." White Mage stated.

"But if it doesn't lead to Pravoca, what's the point?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, there is probably treasure that way. And you know what the point of adventure is! To get that treasure!" Thief exclaimed, "To me, it's just killing two birds with a single stone."

"All right, all right! We'll go down the left path. Are you three happy now?" Black Mage asked, stomping down the left path. Red Mage immediately ran after Black Mage.

"Wait! I heard a rustling in the bushes. There might be an enemy around." Red Mage warned, listening for the sound. Black Mage whistled.

"Or it could be a squirrel. Look, I just want to get to the town, learn some butt-kicking spells, re-light those stupid orbs, and get on with my life." Black Mage said, continuing forward. He pushed Red Mage aside as he passed, not even hearing what Red Mage was saying. However, he stopped when he saw two cobras glaring at him, hissing.

"Or it could've been cobras..." Black Mage grumbled, "Fine, wanna play? FIRE!" Black Mage instantly set off a Fire spell, but it didn't seem to do one shred of damage.

"That's okay. I always have BOLT!" Black Mage screamed, this time shooting a bolt spell at the snakes. But again, it did nothing. In fact, it missed. Black Mage cursed and kicked and basically threw a little hissy fit. "_I HAVE NO MAGIC LEFT!_" Luckily, the other three were running and made it just in time!

"BM, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Thief asked, as he stopped. Black Mage shook his head.

"No, but these little pests aren't taking damage from my spells!" he replied, practically in a panic. Red Mage leaned on his sword.

"Well, if you just listened instead of storming ahead like a swat team, I could've _told_ you that most monsters on the Pravoca continent are immune to spells." Red Mage countered, making Black Mage fume.

"But then what can we do? They're gonna kill us!" Black Mage cried, throwing his hands into the air. White Mage sighed in frustration.

"Do you not know the use of a weapon? We'll attack them physically, of course!" she replied. Thief nodded and took out his dagger. He slashed at one cobra.

"DIE, COBRA!" he shrieked as he sliced it into two. The second cobra looked at the four warriors and screamed, seeing her partner was dead. _KRA-THAM!_ White Mage smacked the second cobra on the head with her staff. Then Red Mage stabbed it with his sword, and they had won.

"Heh, good thing I kept them off while you three lazed around with your weapons." Black Mage said triumphantly. However, White Mage didn't look so pleased.

"You kept them off? Oh please! You were screaming like a little schoolgirl when we arrived!" White Mage exclaimed. She turned around and saw Thief picking something up. "What are you doing?" Thief looked up at her.

"Well, you know what they taught us in battle class, right? Every so often a defeated enemy leaves behind an item it was carrying! I'm just picking up those items!" he explained, and showed White Mage his spoils.

"T-those are Potions!" White Mage said with excitement. Black Mage took a look at them.

"Holy Chaos, we're saved!" Black Mage added, and practically danced around. Red Mage, however, didn't celebrate. He looked ahead towards the mountain.

"This isn't the time to celebrate. You really think two Potions are going to last us forever? I'd be surprised if they lasted to the end of this forest! Anyway, there might be more monsters around here, so we'd better make haste if we don't want something like that to happen again." Red Mage said, and began to walk up the path again. White Mage and Thief followed, but Black Mage stayed for a second.

"Geez, we just won our first battle without getting the stuffing beaten out of us or using some humiliating plan... you'd think they'd let me have my fun." Black Mage said to himself. Then he too began to head up the trail.

"Red Mage, are we there yet?" Black Mage and Thief began to complain after an hour of hiking. Red Mage looked at a tree that had algae on it.

"According to my survival class instincts, whatever's beyond this forest is this way." Red Mage said, pointing north. Black Mage laughed.

"How would you know? I'm getting tired! I want to go home!" Black Mage pouted, crossing his arms. Red Mage stuck his sword into the ground angrily.

"Come on, BM! Where's your adventuring spirit?" Red Mage asked, annoyed. Black Mage shrugged.

"It started seeping out when we fought that wuss, Garland. But now it totally left after seeing you take directions from mold for the past half hour." Black Mage answered, tapping his foot impatiently. Thief rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it's getting cold too. RM, maybe we should go to Pravoca." Thief added, shivering. White Mage looked around.

"Not only that, but I think we're lost too." White Mage said, "We haven't been on the trail for a while now." Black Mage spat.

"That wouldn't have happened if Mr. Survival Expert here wasn't so bent on adventuring. We could be kicking butt with new spells or even relaxing in a bar! But no, RM needed experience for the trip!" Black Mage ranted again, pacing around.

"Well, excuse me! Half the point of an adventure is braving the unknown and gaining the experience for life!" Red Mage yelled back. Black Mage stopped and lunged at Red Mage.

"_I'LL SHOW YOU "EXPERIENCE!"_ Black Mage screamed, and was about to punch Red Mage until Thief and White Mage dragged him back, "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"Listen, point is, we're lost. Why don't we just find a cave to rest in for the night and then we'll go to Pravoca tomorrow. Does that sound fair?" White Mage asked. Everyone nodded, but no one was really motivated to move.

"Excuse me, but I overheard you were lost." Came the voice of an old lady. Everyone either tensed up or drew their weapons.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Red Mage demanded, though he sounded very nervous. The voice laughed, and stepped out of the bushes to reveal a young-looking witch, but her voice would say otherwise.

"Relax, my dears. I'm not here to hurt you." she said.

"Yeah, she's just an old lady." Black Mage added, laughing. The witch looked at Black Mage, but Black Mage didn't know how she knew he was there. Her eyes were closed.

"Watch it, youngster. I may be old, but I do know a lot of magic. Now, what are lovely children like you doing in this forest?" the witch asked, "It's freezing out here!"

"We were looking for Pravoca city, but we got lost." White Mage explained.

"Well, that's quite a ways away. Why don't you follow me and you all can relax at my house." the witch said. She began to walk towards the mountain, and the four warriors followed her.

"So, where is your house?" Thief asked, curiously.

"Well, it's not really a house, it's more of a cave. But it's home to me. Ah, here we are." the witch replied, and walked into a small cave. Everyone else followed, amazed at what they saw. The entire cave was made of some form of crystal, but that wasn't what was so interesting. Brooms were walking everywhere, and even more amazing, they could talk too!

"Flip 'er over! Elcric d'na Tceles!" they'd say whenever anyone went near them.

"What the heck are they saying?" Black Mage asked, annoyed. The witch laughed.

"Oh, I have no idea. They seem to speak their own language sometimes." she said, and opened a door to a huge room. Everyone stepped in carefully, save for the witch herself. She walked over to a desk lined with small skulls.

"Sit down, sit down!" She urged, as the four sat down in the chairs.

"You still haven't told us who you are." Black Mage mumbled.

"My name is Matoya, the Grey Witch." the witch answered. Black Mage didn't seem to care, but Red Mage's eyes went wide.

"THE Matoya? The greatest mage on the earth?" Red Mage asked, completely amazed.

"The one and only." Matoya said, nodding.

"An honor to meet you! I've read all your magic guides and I've wanted to meet you for years!" Red Mage exclaimed, and shook Matoya's hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, why would you let us into your house? We barely know you!" Black Mage stated. Matoya laughed again.

"You're right. And there is a reason." Matoya replied, "I have a quest for you warriors, that is, if you're willing to go." Thief's ears perked up.

"What kind of quest, Matoya?" he asked, sounding like an excited 6-year-old.

"Well, you all should very well know that I'm blind. My crystal was taken from me, and without it, I can see nothing." Matoya explained.

"So let me guess. You want us to bring it back for you?" Black Mage asked, although he was getting very annoyed.

"Precisely. I will even throw in a reward." Matoya said. The foursome looked at each other.

"But who took your crystal in the first place?" White Mage asked.

"It was that dark elf, Astos. His race has been dying out for centuries now, so he came to me to fix that. When I told him I wouldn't do such a thing, he stole my crystal to make me pay." Matoya explained. White Mage gasped, but Thief wasn't so worried.

"So, we'll just beat up Astos. No biggie." he said confidently. Matoya smacked him with her cane.

"Don't be a fool! He is not to be taken lightly. Now then, the plus is that you have to go to Pravoca anyway, so it isn't too out of your way." Matoya said. Black Mage slammed his fist on the table.

"But we don't know how to get to Pravoca! That's the whole reason we're HERE!" he yelled. But Matoya wasn't daunted.

"Well, when you leave here, you'll come to two crossroads. Take the right one, and follow the path to a gate. Beyond that gate is Pravoca." Matoya said. Black Mage nearly exploded with anger.

"I TOLD you we should've gone right, you idiot!" he screamed at Red Mage.

"Yes, but then we wouldn't have gotten such a grand quest." Red Mage replied. Black Mage went off his rocker now.

"_YOU KNEW? GAAH! YOU'D BETTER GET THERE FAST BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!_" Black Mage screamed, making all the brooms afraid.

"My, will he be alright?" Matoya asked, worried. White Mage smiled while Red Mage and Thief carried Black Mage out.

"Yes, this happens all the time. We'll be back soon, Matoya." White Mage replied, and she left as well. Matoya looked over at her skulls.

"I certainly hope they're the Light Warriors... this is not an easy quest."

And the third chapter is done! Will our heroes get to Pravoca? Will Black Mage really kill Red Mage? Is Astos too powerful for our heroes? And is there really a bar in Pravoca? Find out on the next chapter, so click that little button on Reviews! Also, I won't update until I get more reviews!


	4. Unexpected guests and a new boat!

So many reviews, and so little time... Thank you all so much, I think the past chapter's reviews have helped me the most. I didn't realize my story's similarities until you all told me, and I'd like to say sorry for that. I didn't intend to do that, and to "...", the ogre was chosen completely at random in the first chapter. This isn't an excuse, and I'll tone down the 8-bit stuff. As always, I don't own FF or 8-bit.

Fighter and Black Belt stood outside a brand new bar in the small town of Cherry. The Creaky Door tavern had gone bankrupt, no thanks to the fact that Fighter and BB kept getting free drinks, or from the fact that they scared everyone off with their stupidity.

"So, what's this place called?" Fighter asked, as people around them chattered away. Black Belt looked up at the huge sign.

"Looks like it's called the Bradford Bar. Kind of a weird name if you ask me." Black Belt replied. Just then, a green-haired girl walked out of the building and up to a stand. Everyone began cheering, and Fighter's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"Fighter, what's wrong?" Black Belt asked, concerned.

"That's... That's Terra Bradford! OHMYGOD! She is only the BEST sword-wielder ever!" Fighter exclaimed, love-struck, "I gotta shake her hand!"

"Fighter, wait!" Black Belt cried, but he was too late. Fighter was already on his way to Terra.

"First of all, I'd just like to..." Terra began until Fighter slammed into her, "AAAH!" Terra fell off the stage.

"Terra! I love you, you're the best, I can't believe you're here!" Fighter exclaimed as Black Belt dragged him off the stage and into their small hide-out.

"With our friends gone, the last thing I need is you being arrested..." Black Belt mumbled.

Meanwhile, the real heroes of the story were walking through the fields as Matoya had instructed.

"Do we _have_ to do this quest? Can't we just go about our adventure without her?" Black Mage asked, as they walked through the heat.

"Well, it might be nice to help her out." White Mage replied, "After all, the main purpose of warriors is to help the people."

"Not to mention she said she'd give us a reward!" Thief added happily, throwing the small sack that held their supplies around.

"But what about equipment?" Black Mage cried, "We only have one potion! We might need more! Red Mage, you're with me, right?" Red Mage looked at the sack thoughtfully.

"I see your point, BM." Red Mage started, but Black Mage interrupted him.

"See! I knew he was on my side!" Black Mage exclaimed, uncharacteristically in glee.

"You didn't let me finish..." Red Mage grumbled, "We may have but a potion, but we also have Cure magic, and I'm sure we'll be in Pravoca soon. Besides, Matoya might have leads as to where the first altar for the orbs is anyway." Upon hearing this, Black Mage almost went berserk.

"_BUT WHAT ABOUT MONEY?_" Black Mage screamed, jumping up and down angrily. Thief took out some gil in his pocket.

"We've got about 286 gil. That should do it, right?" Thief asked, confidently. However, Black Mage was not convinced.

"Yeah, that'll buy us what... 4 potions! Ooooh! Four potions! Like that'll get us to the first altar!" Black Mage ranted, "I'd be friggin' surprised if it gets us back to Matoya's cave!" White Mage was getting pretty annoyed with Black Mage's complaints.

"Well, I don't see _you_ charging into battle, BM." White Mage stated, tapping her foot impatiently. Black Mage shrugged.

"I prefer to fight at a safe distance. Besides, it's not like I can do very much damage physically anyway." Black Mage replied. Red Mage nodded.

"So, with that being said, I think magic should be our prime goal for now. After all, there are three mages in our party. Let's see... with the potential for three awesome spells each... and according to this guide here... each spell is about 400 gil." Red Mage began to write something down. Black Mage sighed.

"We could be here for hours if we let him figure this out." Black Mage warned.

"But we need to know what we're actually saving up for." White Mage countered, "Not to mention, we could use the experience to get stronger." By that time, Red Mage was done with his calculations.

"I've got it!" Red Mage exclaimed, putting his feather-pen back onto his hat, "We'll need about 4500 gil to get the equipment we'll need from Pravoca. But this doesn't include potions and stuff like that." Black Mage sighed. This would be a long night.

"But we only have 286 gil... That means we need to fight a ton to afford this. Come on, team." Black Mage said, although he wasn't enthusiastic about it at all. It would be a very long night.

After the hard fought battles, the team managed to score about 2400 gil, which, according to Pravoca Tours magazine, roughly added to their upgraded equipment and about 4 spells. Thief figured that was enough to get them through for now, especially since Black Mage was beginning to whine from pain more than the enemies were. But seeing as how they were only on level 2, no one was really surprised.

"My arm hurts!" Black Mage whined pathetically. Thief sighed as he carried Black Mage on his back.

"We know, BM. You've been complaining for the past ten minutes." Thief groaned, as he tried to shift Black Mage a little, "RM, how much further until we reach Pravoca?"

"Well, we're in a small swampland, and seeing how Pravoca is a coastal town, it should only be a few minutes until we get there." Red Mage replied, "Why?"

"Good! I think Black Mage gained some weight. He's heavy!" Thief exclaimed. Black Mage twitched, and then leapt onto the ground, eyes red with rage.

"_THINK I'M OVERWEIGHT, HUH?_" Black Mage roared, "_I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS QUEST! I'M GONNA FRY YOU!_" He immediately aimed what appeared to be a large fireball at Thief. White and Red Mage grabbed his arms to hold him back. Black Mage lashed around angrily.

"Let me go! He deserves to die!" Black Mage screamed. But soon he fell on the floor. White Mage stood behind him, dusting her staff off triumphantly.

"Now that that distraction is over, we should really get to Pravoca." White Mage said sweetly, and began walking down the field again. Red Mage and Thief followed, dragging Black Mage along the floor. Within a few minutes, they had reached the beautiful little town of Pravoca.

"What should we do with BM?" Thief asked, "He's not looking too good."

"I agree." Red Mage said, as he examined Black Mage. Black Mage was covered in dirt, which wasn't a surprise since he was dragged about half a mile on the ground.

"Maybe some water will help him." White Mage suggested. She took an empty bottle from their sack and filled it with water from the town fountain. Then she dumped the water all over Black Mage. He woke up with a start.

"What? Where am I? What was I doing?" Black Mage asked, genuinely confused, "And why am I soaking wet?" He turned to look at his friends. Red Mage and Thief pointed to White Mage.

"Thanks, guy..." White Mage grumbled, "Anyway, now that you're up, we should do the shopping." Black Mage snickered.

"You sound like a housewife, you know." Black Mage teased, "Oh, look at me! I'm a goody-goody! Let's go do the shopping! Let's go save the world! What's next? Are you gonna make us wear dresses or something?" Black Mage then burst into hysterical laughter. Unfortunately for him, the other three didn't share his humor.

"GET MOVING!" White Mage ordered angrily, hitting Black Mage again with her staff. She then stomped over to the magic store. Black Mage rubbed his head.

"Man, I don't care what those stupid guides say. Her hits hurt the worst!" Black Mage exclaimed, getting up. He, Red Mage, and Thief followed White Mage into the store...

"I can't BELIEVE those idiots!" Black Mage ranted as they walked out of the store 15 minutes later, "All of that work and no spells worth learning!"

"Hey! That ice spell was a bargain!" Thief cried, although he was sure it was a rip-off too. Black Mage spat.

"Look, BM. I know you're mad, but now we have more money for potions and things we'll need." Red Mage said, trying to calm Black Mage down. Black Mage choked back his anger and instead stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Fine... let's get our equipment and get some rest." Black Mage mumbled, as the four then walked into the armory. After an hour of shopping and haggling, the four heroes retired to the inn. Black Mage was thankful that Red Mage talked Thief out of getting a gold pocketknife, or else they would be sleeping in dirt.

"You know, now that I think about it, how are we gonna find Astos? Matoya never said where he was, did she?" Thief asked, flopping on his bed.

"Maybe one of the villagers know something about him." White Mage replied, setting her new hammer on the table. Black Mage grumbled angrily.

"Can we discuss this tomorrow? I'm trying to sleep here!" Black Mage complained. White Mage sighed and got into her bed. Red Mage turned out the lights and soon the foursome was asleep. The next morning, though, Red Mage and Thief left before White and Black Mage were even up.

"Red Mage, did we have to leave so early?" Thief yawned as they walked down the dim sunlit street. Red Mage, however, didn't seem one bit tired.

"Well, we need to ask around for Astos, and you know Black Mage wouldn't help." Red Mage replied.

"But couldn't we wake WM up?" Thief asked, tying his bandana in his hair.

"No, she puts up with us enough. Some extra sleep won't hurt her." Red Mage said. But inside, he was wondering if they should've waited. Almost no one was outside, save for seven people hanging outside the pub.

"Why don't we start with them?" Thief asked, pointing to the group. Red Mage nodded, and walked over to them. The boss, who actually looked like a pirate, eyed them suspiciously.

"Excuse me, sir. But do you know the location of one named Astos?" Red Mage asked. The other six looked at their leader. He grinned evilly.

"Aye, that I do. He lives across the Aldi sea, in the land of the elves. But anyone who dares to fight him have never returned." he explained. Thief puffed out his chest confidently.

"Except for us! We're the Light Warriors!" Thief exclaimed. The pirate's eyes gleamed.

"Are ye, now?" he asked, with interest. Just then, White Mage and Black Mage came running, and they both looked worried.

"There you are... Oh!" White Mage gasped, "What the?"

"Good news! We know where Astos is now!" Thief said happily. Black Mage, however, scrunched his nose.

"That's nice but we have a bigger problem at the moment!" he exclaimed pointing to the lead pirate.

"We were asking around yesterday when you both were in the armor store, and those seven are pirates! They've been terrorizing the village! Even worse, they work for Astos!" White Mage explained, "The leader's name is Bikke, and he's the most feared pirate in history!" Bikke threw off his cape to reveal a middle-aged man with a curly black beard, and the usual pirate look.

"Argh, that I be! Astos asked me to drown the lot he's planning on saving the world." Bikke turned to his crew, "Get 'em, boys!" The six pirates sprang to attack as three more ran out of the pub to join.

"There's nine of them!" Black Mage yelled angrily, but Red Mage kept his cool.

"That won't be a problem if we put them to sleep. BM, use your sleep spell!" Red Mage exclaimed. Black Mage nodded, and cast a fine powder over the pirates. All nine of them fell asleep. White Mage, Red Mage, and Thief each took on a pirate as Black Mage attempted his new Ice spell. Soon, the battle was over.

"Ye... ye destroyed me crew?" Bikke was in shock.

"Yup. Now then, help us get to Astos and we might just spare your meaningless life." Black Mage threatened. Bikke gulped.

"Okay. A deal be a deal. You'll need a ship to cross, so take mine. You won it fair and square." Bikke said. Thief still wasn't completely satisfied.

"And promise to stay out of trouble too?" Thief asked. Bikke nodded.

"Aye, I keep my word. I'll leave here for good." he replied. The four heroes nodded, and began to leave for the port. Black Mage whacked Bikke with his new staff before he left. Bikke rubbed his head until he saw a girl pirate stomp up to him.

"BIKKE! Why are four landlubbers pilfering our ship!" asked a brawny, blonde pirate.

"Aye, I'm sorry, Faris. They won it fair and square..." Bikke replied. Faris began throwing a hissy-fit.

Meanwhile, the heroes were beginning to sail off into the sea.

"I hope we reach Elfheim soon." White Mage said, "That's the capital of Elfland, so I'm sure someone will know something."

"Its king is also supposed to know how to revive the four orbs, too. All the more reason to hurry." Red Mage added. Thief nodded.

"Not to worry. My uncle taught me how to steer a boat, so we'll be there before you know it!" Thief exclaimed. Black Mage was over the side of the boat, throwing up.

"Could you slow it down? I just lost my breakfast." he mumbled.

"Sorry, but no can do! We have to help Matoya and figure out how to save the orbs!" Thief exclaimed proudly.

"After all, we're the Light Warriors!"

(They're so confident, aren't they?)

And so, our heroes now got their hands on a boat! Can they get to Elfheim safely? Will anyone know where Astos is? Does the king really know how to revive the orbs? And why did I put Terra and Faris in here? All will be revealed next chapter! So click that Review button!


	5. The trip to Elfheim was kinda lame

All right, I've said this on and I'll say it to readers. Sorry about the slow update as my computer broke down! Anyway, Mimic12355, thanks! I'll keep it up until the very end! So, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit.

Fighter was holding a bouquet of roses as he walked down the road to the local clinic. Needless to say, the villagers were staring because since it was a small town, nothing was a secret. Plus, no one ever thought Fighter would be holding flowers.

"Fighter!" Black Belt called, noticing him. He ran up to catch up to his red-haired friend. "Hey, what's with the flowers?" Fighter beamed as he held up his package.

"Well, since I basically hospitalized Terra, I figured maybe some roses will cheer her up!" Fighter exclaimed, happily. He continued to skip to the hospital like a little schoolgirl would. Black Belt followed.

"Somehow, I know this'll end in tragedy…" Black Belt said as they entered the small clinic.

Meanwhile, our heroes were sailing along the sea at a peaceful speed.

"_THIEF! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING!_" Black Mage yelled, as Thief was about to smash into yet another boulder. In actuality, the ride wasn't peaceful at all. The engine to the ship went haywire, meaning that there was no way to slow it down in the rapids.

"You'd think that with Bikke being a pirate and all, he would get a sturdier engine for this thing." White Mage said while Black Mage screamed at Thief. Red Mage was busy trying to put together an anchor using spare metal parts.

"Well, this is an old boat, WM. It's not like you can just upgrade the engine. The whole thing might blow." Red Mage replied, attaching a metal pipe to a chain. Black Mage stopped screaming for a minute and let go of Thief's collar.

"Then why did we accept this moldy box of splinters in the first place?" Black Mage asked, as Red Mage continued his work. Red Mage wiped sweat off of his forehead and put his anchor-in-progress down.

"Who are we to kick a free gift in the mouth? Even if it doesn't work, I'm sure I can fix it. After all, I _did_ get a degree in mechanics." Red Mage said, smiling confidently. Black Mage slowly picked up a metal pipe and threw it at Red Mage's head.

"Too bad it's not a mechanical ship, idiot." Black Mage said as the pipe made a satisfying _clink!_ sound as it hit Red Mage's head. Red Mage rubbed his head in pain, but didn't say anything. Thief, however, was trying desperately to control the ship's speed.

"Guys! I need help here!" Thief cried, as he nearly got away from another boulder. Black and White Mage ran up to the wheel, and both of them tried to help Thief by steering the wheel in the opposite direction. But a huge cracking sound told them it wasn't working. Sure enough, the entire wheel broke off.

"Aaaah, what's with this freakin' ship?" Black Mage asked, throwing the broken wheel behind him. Once again, it hit Red Mage square in the head, and bounced into the ocean.

"At least we stopped." Thief said, not even noticing that Red Mage passed out. White Mage looked around. The sea was dead quiet, save for the rippling from the wheel. She shivered and picked Red Mage up.

"Maybe we should get this boat to shore… Sea monsters have been sighted here, you know." White Mage whispered, laying Red Mage on a blanket. Black Mage waved his arms and kicked the railing of the deck a few times.

"Great! As if I haven't been through enough already! First, we fight the world's most retarded villain, then we nearly fall off a bridge to our doom, then we have to help some old wench get her crystal back, and now I'm gonna be attacked be a sea monster? I HATE MY LIFE!" Black Mage screamed, kicking the railing over and over.

"Uh… BM, maybe you shouldn't do that…" Thief said, as he saw the railing was about to snap. Black Mage gave a cold laugh.

"Why shouldn't I? It's not like this piece of crap is helping us anyway! In fact, we're in even more danger thanks to this thing!" Black Mage stated. He gave the railing a mighty kick, and it finally snapped off, landing in the ocean.

"Are you done yet?" White Mage asked, trying to cast her Cure spell on Red Mage. Black Mage stuffed his hands into his pockets again and nodded. Thief, however, looked over the side of the ship nervously. The sea may have been quiet, but something dangerous was out here.

"Thief, what the hell are you doing?" Black Mage asked, exasperated.

"I think WM is right… I think there's something down here." Thief said, shivering too, "I heard the rail make a soft crunch as it fell. Rails don't just go crunch on their own, you know." Black Mage sighed and pointed at the water.

"Look, if you're that worried, I'll just cast Bolt. No sea creature can withstand a blast of that." Black Mage said, and started chanting. White Mage knocked him over.

"OW!" He yelled, getting up, "WM, what is your problem?"

"Are you not blind? We're on the ocean, and our boat is soaked from you throwing stuff in the water! If you cast Bolt, we'll all be electrocuted!" White Mage cried. Red Mage, who had just woken up, sat up.

"Yeah, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of getting hit with stuff." He said, putting his feathered cap on. Thief thought for a second, and looked at Red Mage's poor excuse for an anchor.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, running over to the pile of garbage.

"What's it?" Black Mage asked, although he didn't really care.

"Getting hit with stuff! If we throw this at whatever is hiding in the water, we might just knock it out!" Thief explained, picking up the unfinished anchor. He then proceeded to throw it into the ocean again. Nothing happened except for the water moving a little. Black Mage walked over to Thief, looking over the side.

"Nice plan." Black Mage said, sarcastically, "While you're at it, why don't you make a hole in the bottom of this thing so we all can drown and attempt to crush whatever it is we're trying to defeat!"

"I didn't hear _you_ coming up with anything! In fact, you broke our boat!" Thief countered, "Maybe if you weren't in such a bad mood, we'd actually get somewhere." Black Mage choked back another angry scream. White Mage was still looking into the murky sea water.

"I think it's gone…" she said after a few minutes went by. Everyone wiped the sweat off of their heads. Thief then walked back to what was left of the steering wheel… or more like a steering post. He looked around quizzically.

"So, does anyone know how we're going to drive this thing?" he asked, "Since, you know, the wheel's gone and all." Red Mage got up dizzily and inspected the post too. It was definitely torn beyond repairs, although the engine was still intact thankfully. After Red Mage's inspection, he came up with an idea.

"One of us can attach a rope to ourselves and pull the ship along." Red Mage suggested. Both White Mage and Thief had enormous sweatdrops over their heads, while Black Mage tapped his foot in boredom.

"Yeah, that's a _great_ plan. The only one that can possibly top that one was Thief's plan to kill whatever you guys thought was in there." Black Mage spat sarcastically, waving towards the ocean, "If monsters really did attack sailors, how did the stories start?"

"Maybe they survived?" Thief suggested. Suddenly, though, a soft plop was heard amongst the water. Everyone turned and looked at the ocean again. Soft green eyes stared back at everyone.

"AAAAH! See? I told you something was down there!" White Mage screamed, jumping back. Red Mage got out his sword.

"Guess this is where we prove your theory." He said to Thief, who'd also drawn his dagger. But what happened next took everyone by surprise. The monster rose out of the water to reveal a large seven-headed dragon.

"Who keeps throwing things at me?" it asked, its voice thunderous, "All I wanted was some Cornerian fish and this is what happens?" The dragon huffed in a pout.

"What? Wait, you're the monster who keeps attacking people?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. This dragon certainly wasn't acting like a bloodthirsty sea demon. The dragon blinked.

"Well, if people stopped throwing stuff at me, I wouldn't cause a tsunami in defense. In any case, why _are_ you throwing things at me?" the dragon asked, scratching his head, "That steering wheel especially hurt."

"We're sorry…" White Mage tried her best negotiation skills, "You see, one of our party members is criminally insane. He can't help his violent nature sometimes."

"HEY!" Black Mage cried in defense, "No, that wasn't it! I was throwing and blasting stuff because Captain McDorkus here is a horrible navigator!" Black Mage then pointed to Thief. The dragon scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it's not my fault the ship broke down." Thief mumbled.

"May I ask where you're headed?" the dragon asked, "Perhaps I can help you. As a dragon, I do know my way around the world."

"We're going to Elfheim, or at least we were trying to." White Mage replied, relaxing a little. The dragon looked over towards the south.

"That's not far from here. I'll give you a lift, if you want it, of course." The dragon offered. Black Mage nearly jumped to heaven with joy. In fact, he jumped right onto the dragon's back.

"Thank you so much! You don't know what it's like being trapped with these three lunatics day in and day out!" Black Mage exclaimed, sitting on one of the dragon's heads. The dragon chuckled.

"Actually, you'd be surprised. I had a group that was just like this. Oh, the trouble we'd get into…" he said, as the other three hopped on. The dragon began to lift out of the water and soar through the air.

"So then, where are your friends?" White Mage asked, as they passed a small island.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen them for… 100, 200… heck, might even be 300 years since then. But man, the fighting we used to get into…" the dragon went on, recalling his old memories. Thief got an idea.

"Can you tell us about your battles?" he asked brightly. Black Mage tapped Thief on the shoulder impatiently.

"What do you think you're doing?" Black Mage hissed, "Are you insane?" Thief shook his head and waved his index finger.

"If this dragon has any knowledge to the monsters roaming around, it'll make our battles that much easier." Thief replied, smiling. Black Mage gave the thumbs-up, as the dragon growled thoughtfully.

"Well, our battles were both easy and tiring at the same time." The dragon began, "You see, each of us were of one element that made the four elements. This made certain foes very easy to beat. But then again, we could also destroy each other if a fight broke out." White Mage tilted her head while kicking her legs a little.

"So what happened? Why did you leave?" she asked.

"Well, the monsters became too pitiful to give us any experience, so eventually, we began to fight separately to gain more experience with every battle. Then we found this man who asked us to live in very distant keeps in exchange for all of the elemental powers we'd need to survive." The dragon explained, "I haven't seen any of my friends since."

"Yeah, yeah, nice sob story. But what about the monsters?" Black Mage asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Oh, well…" The dragon smiled nervously, "You see, I've been in my keep for so long that I've forgotten most of the monsters' names." A huge sweatdrop appeared over everyone's heads.

"Well, we still thank you for what you've given us." Red Mage said politely, "I think I see land!" He pointed straight ahead, where a small clearing was surrounded by forests. The dragon landed in the clearing, and let the foursome off.

"Southwest of here is Elfheim, the capital of Elfland. Unfortunately, I can't go into the town with you, so I'll be off." The dragon explained. White Mage looked up at him with sadness.

"Where will you go?" she asked, holding her hammer behind her.

"Back to my keep in the Mirage Desert." The dragon replied, "Maybe you can visit me."

"Wait, what's your name? We can't just call you dragon!" Thief said, holding onto the dragon's tail.

"My friends called me Mat, so you can too." Mat said, flying into the sky, "Farewell, warriors!" The foursome waved goodbye to their new friend, and headed southwest like Mat instructed.

"Man, I'm gonna miss Mat." Thief said as they walked. Black Mage nodded.

"Yeah. Unlike most of the freaks we've met, he actually helped us for a change." Black Mage added, until he heard a hissing noise. The others heard it too, and everyone stared into the forest. Another snake appeared.

"Ah, not those freakin' things again! Shoo! Scram!" Black Mage said, and hit the snake with his Ice spell. The snake shriveled up, and for a minute, the group felt relieved… That is, until something else crept along.

"Ew! What is that?" White Mage asked, pointing her hammer at whatever the thing was. It made a sploshy sound as it moved. Even Black Mage winced at the sight.

"Best way to know is to beat it." Thief said, and gently poked the thing with his dagger. It made a squish sound, and then it began leaking some green ooze.

"Yuck! That's nasty!" Black Mage exclaimed, "Good going, Thief."

"Well, what would you have done?" Thief asked, kicking at the now dead thing.

"Easy, I would've nuked it with Fire3." Black Mage replied, and kept walking along. White Mage sighed, and followed.

"Does he even know Fire3?" Thief asked Red Mage, as they began to follow as well. Red Mage shook his head, and after that, nothing was said until they reached the city.

Elfheim was unlike any city the four had been in. One, it was huge. Huge houses, huge selection at the shops, huge cemeteries. Two, forests dotted the entire city. White Mage ran up to a flower and sniffed it.

"It's beautiful!" she said happily, spinning around.

"Yeah, pretty." Black Mage turned to Red Mage, "Okay, Mr. Survival Expert. Where do we go from here?" Red Mage looked around.

"Perhaps asking around is best." He suggested. White Mage and Thief followed him as he began interrogating potential allies. Black Mage shrugged.

"We'd better get this over with quick. I want some rest and I want it now!"

Well, our heroes are now in the beautiful city of Elfheim! Will they get the information as to the whereabouts of Astos? Can Matoya wait any longer for her crystal? What's the deal with Mat? And is Terra okay with Fighter around? Find out next time, so click that Review button!


	6. Everything is woven together, right?

It's that time again! Time to check on our four heroes to see how they're doing. Aw, so no one reviewed last chapter… Anyway, by now you ought to know, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit.

Fighter was sitting next to a bed which indeed held Terra, heroine to FF6. He had put the flowers in a vase, but Black Belt hadn't come in yet.

"So, sorry I knocked you over." Fighter said, trying yet again to start some conversation. Terra stiffly lifted her cast hand to signal something.

"I'm glad you were nice enough to visit me." She replied, "It's not everyday that someone drops by to give me flowers." Fighter smiled happily.

"That's me! A giver!" he said, his grin growing, "So, wanna talk about swords?"

"That's ALL you've been talking about!" Terra cried, "Can't we talk about… I don't know. Espers? Alchemy? The dangerous O-Zone effect? _ANYTHING OTHER THAN SWORDS?_" Fighter's face went blank.

"Why would we want to talk about that?" he asked, genuinely confused. Terra sighed and pressed a red button on her bed.

"Nurse, I have a stalker in my room. Can you please get rid of him?" Terra asked. The next thing anyone knew, Fighter was tossed out into the street headfirst.

Meanwhile, in Elfheim, our heroes were asking around the city as to where they should head next. But no matter what, they all got the same response. Black Mage was getting pretty restless too.

"Man, what is with these people?" he asked, kicking a rock, "It's like they're robotic drones! 'Oh, please save the prince!' Thbbbt! How the hell are we going to do _that?_" Red Mage stopped for a minute, looking westward.

"It's simple, really." Red Mage replied, "Where does the prince live? A castle, so we should ask there. Someone there surely knows what's going on." Black Mage, however, was still very much annoyed. He placed his hands on his hips in an irritated manner.

"But what about saving the orbs and becoming Light Warriors?" Black Mage asked, "We still have that gig, remember?" Thief stopped next to Black Mage.

"Yeah, and we still have to help Matoya." Thief added, "At this rate, we'll never find the orbs." White Mage looked gently at her three friends.

"Don't worry. We have all the time we need." White Mage replied, "In the beginners class for the White Mages, the first basic lesson is to know that all things within themselves are connected. So, even if it looks like we won't get to the orbs _now,_ just remember that in time, we will."

"I like that lesson!" Thief chirped, as the foursome began to walk aimlessly towards the palace. Red Mage seemed to like the idea as well, and even Black Mage didn't make his usual wisecrack remark about it. White Mage felt relief at being able to calm her friends down…

…until they reached the castle. Everything was an utter mess! People and elves were running everywhere, basically in a state of panic. The group found it very hard to get through the halls of the castle. Just getting through the castle gates was a chore.

"Hey, watch where you're going, moron!" Black Mage screamed as a servant knocked right into him, "Geez, these people are acting like it's the end of the world already!" He pointed to three people and a huge pile of what looked like very expensive dishes, only now they were shattered.

"Well, judging by what the people in town said, I'm not surprised." Red Mage replied, moving out of the way of a chef, "The Elven prince has been alive for nearly 1000 years, and his father is on the verge of death. With no heir to the throne, anyone could take over."

"Is that another reason we have to beat Astos? Does he also want the throne?" Thief asked, "Matoya said he was the leader of the dark elves." Everyone thought carefully about this as they slowly made their way into the throne room itself. Once inside, everyone was relieved at the sudden silence in the room. Almost no one was around save for the sleeping prince and a servant next to his bed.

"May I help you?" the servant asked, a hint of worry in his voice. Black Mage nodded in slight annoyance.

"We're looking for some answers here. Where the hell do we find Astos?" he asked simply, but White Mage nudged his side angrily. The servant's eyes widened at the mention of Astos's name.

"W-why on earth would you go looking for him?" he asked, his voice now more shaky than before.

"Trust me, man. It's not like we _want _to look for him." Black Mage replied, and again got another unfriendly nudge. Red Mage decided he should do the talking.

"We are here on the behalf of the Grey Witch, Matoya. She has lost a dear item, and rumors be told that Astos holds it." Red Mage explained, "But in order to get the item, we must know where to find Astos first. Can you tell us anything?" The servant gulped hesitantly.

"Unfortunately, no one knows where Astos lives. He hasn't been seen for at least 50 years. But there is an old castle to the northwest. Although we have never sent anyone in there, it might lead to some clues." The servant replied, "There is a scholar who might be able to help you. I believe he is in the library." The four nodded, and left the throne room.

"So, let me get this straight." Black Mage whined as they made their way down the once-again crowded halls of the castle, "We're looking for some crystal, and a guy with probably the worst name I've ever heard, and then we have to wake up a prince from his nap? This leads us to the orbs in what way?"

"I haven't figured that out yet, but it doesn't hurt to look into this." Red Mage replied, as they finally came to a huge door. To the side was a small sign that said "Ye Old Library. Enter at ye own risk." Red Mage ignored the warning as he opened the door to a rather large study. Books were piled almost as high as the shelves there.

"Well, if we're going to find _anything_, this would definitely be the place to start!" Thief exclaimed, and began looking through some books. Red and White Mage began to do the same. Black Mage, however, was tired of working, so he sat down in a chair.

"Who's touching my books?" came the voice of a rather old man. A figure hobbled slowly from the back to reveal an older man with white hair and a height problem. He tapped at the floor with his cane, "Hey, get away from those!"

"S-sorry!" Thief replied as he dropped the book he had been reading. The old man picked up the book and placed it gently on a very unstable shelf.

"What do you youngsters want? This is no place to play!" the old man snapped.

"We're sorry. It's just that we were told to come here for information onto where Astos is." White Mage replied, trying to straighten the books out. The old man groaned from discomfort, and sat down, rubbing his temples in thought.

"Well, that's a topic I don't hear often." He said, "Yes, Astos is a dangerous person. He likes to manipulate people into doing his dirty work. But why would you need to know?"

"Point is, we have to kick his sorry butt, so either tell us or we'll leave." Black Mage snapped back, which made the old man laugh.

"Okay, I'll tell. No need to lose it now." The old man chuckled, "50 years ago, a war between the Light Elves and the Dark Elves began. You know Astos is the leader. Angered at his loss, he poisoned the prince into a very deep sleep."

"He… he poisoned the prince?" the four heroes asked at once.

"Yes." The old man replied, "Now, Matoya was the only one who knew the ingredients to a tonic to wake him up, but Astos knew this as well, and attacked her. Because of her loss of sight, we've not been able to receive her tonic."

"So then why can't you guys just go and get it?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. Were elves this lazy?

"We haven't any boats to get to Pravoca, so we can't travel to that region." The old man replied. Suddenly, Thief got an idea.

"Matoya said she'd give us a reward if we gave her the crystal, right?" he asked. The other three nodded, "Well, what if we ask her for the potion as a reward?"

"That's a good idea." White Mage replied.

"We would be most pleased if you did!" the old man exclaimed, actually smiling now. Black Mage was the only one who hated the idea.

"_BUT WHY? WHAT ABOUT MONEY?_" he screamed, stomping his foot and basically throwing a temper tantrum, "Ever since we started this stupid quest, we've been broke, and have barely survived! I'm sick of it!"

"If a reward is what you need, we will happily give you anything you wish." The old man said calmly. Black Mage stopped his little hissy-fit and nodded.

"That's what I like to hear." He agreed. When things had settled down enough, the four heroes bid the castle and Elfheim goodbye. But things still weren't peaceful.

"All right, RM. I'm pissed off so you'd better not get us lost." Black Mage ordered. Red Mage didn't seem too daunted though. He took out a small map the old man had given them, and looked around.

"The old man told us to go west, so it's this way." Red Mage decided, heading into the small forest. As they walked, Black Mage remembered the horror of Red Mage looking at every single piece of moss to determine where they were. His insides boiled. '_This whole quest is RM's fault!_' he ranted in his mind. Out of anger, he kicked a tree.

"Uh… BM, I don't think you should've done that…" Thief said worriedly.

"Why? It's not like the tree's moving, is it?" Black Mage asked. He gave a cold laugh as the other three backed away slowly.

"Look behind you!" White Mage shouted. Black Mage sighed heavily and looked back, only to scream in deathly horror. The "tree" was actually the club of a huge ogre, who'd lifted it out of the ground. It roared violently.

"Another one? Where the hell do these things come from?" Black Mage asked angrily. Red Mage drew his sword, his cape billowing from the wind of the club.

"If you've read Brady Games lately, you would've known that this place is an ogre's _breeding ground_!" Red Mage replied. Thief dropped his dagger in disbelief.

"You mean these guys are all over the place?" Thief asked, "That's not good."

"Instead of debating where these freaks live, why don't we just kill it and get it over with! …or rather, why don't we let it kill us?" Black Mage whispered the last part as Thief and Red Mage charged to attack. White Mage cast a Shield spell, which reflected the blow of the ogre's club.

"GAH! It's no use!" Thief panted after a few minutes of unsuccessful slashing at the enemy, "Why aren't our attacks working?"

"Physical tolerance." Red Mage replied, equally as frustrated, "His defense is much higher than our attacking strength. We do no damage to him." Thief and Red Mage jumped out of the way of the swinging club, which smashed into a tree.

"FOG!" Red Mage yelled, casting a thick cloud of fog over the ogre, "That'll buy us some time." White Mage looked over at Black Mage, who did absolutely nothing.

"BM, use your magic!" White Mage cried, as the club nearly hit her.

"Please! The spell will wear off any second!" Red Mage shouted, exasperation and fear in his voice. Black Mage nodded, and prepared his Ice spell. He slammed it right into the ogre, who jumped back in shock. He landed near a cliff that couldn't even support him. It crumbled, sending the ogre to its watery doom.

"HA! In your face, loser of the deep!" Black Mage shouted, doing a sort of victory dance. Suddenly, the four heroes started to glow, "W-what's going on?" Black Mage hopped around nervously.

"We're leveling up!" Red Mage exclaimed happily.

"About time, too. This'll make it somewhat easier to get to the western castle." Thief added, although it wasn't needed. The foursome began to once again walk through the large forest around Elfheim.

"Man, I sure wish Mat was still here." Black Mage complained after half an hour, "My feet freaking hurt!" He sat down on a log.

"Yeah, but who do you think he was?" White Mage asked, "I've never heard of a dragon named Mat before." Thief thought about this for a minute.

"He said his nickname was Mat. Maybe he goes by something else?" Thief suggested. Red Mage interrupted the conversation.

"For now, it doesn't matter. We can figure who he was later, but we need to focus in case there are any more ogres out here." Red Mage said, dead seriously, too. White Mage helped Black Mage up and they all started walking again. Luckily for them, nothing more threatening than a few snakes attacked them, so they had reached the rusty, ruined gates to the Western Castle.

"Think we should go in?" Red Mage asked, although he wasn't remotely touching the gate.

"We don't have much choice, moron." Black Mage hissed, annoyed once again. Thief inspected the gate, pulling his hand back as it touched the rusted metal.

"I don't know. It seems unsafe here…" Thief said, backing away.

"Safe to assume that no one wants to touch this gate." Red Mage speculated. White Mage got an idea, and walked over to the gate. She picked up her hammer and proceeded to smash the gate right off of its hinges.

"Are you three babies coming?" she asked mockingly as she walked through the dead courtyard. All of the trees were dead and the flowers were wilted. The benches were rotting, and lamps were bent.

"What do you think happened here?" Thief asked as they walked past the courtyard quickly.

"Looks like Chaos himself came by for a visit." Black Mage replied, as Red Mage opened the giant stone doors leading into the castle.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, although all four of them knew the answer.

"It's now or never…"

So, our heroes are at an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere. Can they save Elfheim and its prince? Can they get Matoya's crystal back? And did Chaos really come for a visit? Find out in the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	7. There's just no rest for BM, is there?

Alright! Time once again for another odd chapter for the Light Warriors! But first… (opens mailbag) Chad, yeah, Fighter tries hard. But unfortunately, he wasted all of his initial points on strength instead of smarts. Sapphire, I know that on later FFs, Tiamat is a girl, but on the old NES version, the people in Crescent lake referred to her as a guy. But, just think of this. You don't know for sure who Mat really is. That could be Tiamat's brother or something. So, as usual, I don't own FF or 8-bit.

After being thrown out and banned from the Bradford Bar, Fighter was just sitting outside some random person's house.

"What's wrong, kid?" the owner of said house asked.

"My girlfriend dumped me because I kept talking about swords." Fighter replied, "But I don't get it! She's a swordswoman! She _uses_ swords! Why wouldn't she want to talk about them?" The guy brought out a huge sword.

"Give her this." He said, "It's my Masamune, and it's the most powerful sword ever." Fighter's eyes lit up as he repeated all of that.

"She'll love it!" Fighter exclaimed, "But how can I thank you? What's your name?"

"Auron." Was the man's reply, "And don't worry about it." He walked back inside his house. Fighter jumped up with glee and ran back to the hospital like a little kid who took drugs. Black Belt panted when he reached Auron's house.

"Give me a break here!" he cried as he ran to find Fighter.

Back at the western castle, the four heroes were tiptoeing through the long, dusty halls of the castle. Since it was abandoned, there were no lights, making it hard to see.

"Man, what is it with villains? Why do they have a thing against warm, clean, well-lit dungeons?" Thief coughed through the dust, "Don't they realize how the torture chamber look is out?" Black Mage looked around for a minute, his usual sour look still there.

"Thief, I'm not sure if you know this, but these guys practically live in dirt holes." Black Mage stated simply, "They don't care about fashion and they certainly don't give a crap about cleanliness either!" Black Mage kicked a skull across the floor, picking up more dust to prove his point. White Mage sneezed.

"Well, even so, this place was a palace. Surely it couldn't have been in disuse for too long." White Mage said. Red Mage looked at whatever remains he could see of the portraits. Only the frames seemed to be free of the mold.

"I think these paintings would say otherwise." Red Mage replied, "They've suffered so much damage that I can't even tell if what was in them was animal or human, or even a landscape." White Mage and Thief stopped to check out the portraits too. Black Mage, however, didn't even care. He just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as he could.

"Oh, wow. So some paintings are damaged." Black Mage began, "Who cares? Can we please get this over with? I hate it here." He stomped past the other three angrily and further into the hall.

"Geez, we're only trying to see exactly if this is the right place." Thief mumbled, "But it looks like the right place, so maybe BM is right…" Thief walked away from the paintings to where Black Mage was pounding and kicking angrily at a door.

"BM, what are you doing?" White Mage asked as she turned around to see the source of the commotion. Black Mage took out his dagger and started to try and cut the lock off.

"This door's locked! I'm going to get in there!" Black Mage said, "ARGH! OPEN UP, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" Black Mage then started to cast a Fire spell, but it reflected and burned the portrait behind him.

"Whoa! Talk about force feedback!" Thief exclaimed, "Here, let me try." Black Mage moved out of the way to let Thief pick the lock. Thief tried gently, and then he tried a little harder. However, soon he was using so much strength that his dagger actually snapped in two. "This door is haunted!" he screamed. White Mage looked at a small sign next to the door.

"If you two nimrods had even a clue as to read signs, you'd see that this door is locked by the Mystic Key." White Mage said flatly.

"Mystic Key?" Thief asked, "What's that?"

"Yeah, I've never even heard of such a thing." Black Mage added, "In my village, if you can't get a door open, you blow it off its hinges." Red Mage walked over and examined the large keyhole.

"Hmm, the Mystic Key is a very special item. It allows any person who holds it to enter any locked room, regardless of the defense it has." Red Mage explained, "But its whereabouts aren't known. It seems to have been lost in time."

"Well, I bet a well-aimed Flare spell would knock off any door, wouldn't it?" Black Mage asked. White Mage shook her head.

"Don't you remember what just happened when you used Fire? It'll be reflected off of any door locked by the Mystic Key." White Mage replied, "And since Astos seems to be hindering us with the orbs, and he already has a locked door from the key, there's bound to be many more along our way. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if all of the doors from now on are locked by that key!"

"Great… so another piece of crap we need to find in order to progress our journey. This is just wonderful. The only thing that could possibly make this day any better is if we were killed by the weakest enemy in existence." Black Mage stated sarcastically. To his surprise, an Imp just happened to be wandering down the halls.

"Hey!" the Imp cried, "Let me just point out that my people were the basis to some of the strongest monsters around!" Its eyes grew very big and watery as it ran down the hall, crying, "Why couldn't I be a Giant like my cousin?"

"That… was almost sad." Thief said, as they still heard the Imp's wailing from outside the castle.

"Yeah, but now that we've established that we're definitely on the right track, maybe we should try to find the throne room." Red Mage suggested, beginning to walk down the dark hallway again. Black Mage gave an icy glare.

"But I kept suggesting that while you three were staring at pieces of mold!" Black Mage cried angrily, "And just because we found some locked door which needs the Mystic key, doesn't mean we're on the right track, Dumbo."

"Well, if that didn't convince me, the fact that there are monsters around here do." Thief said, "Besides, when has RM ever steered us wrong?" Black Mage began to twitch as the memories of them falling off the bridge, getting lost in every forest they've passed, and having to do a quest for Matoya came back quickly in his mind.

"It was just a coincidence…" Black Mage told himself, "It's not RM's fault… He's just a moron… Must resist urge to kill him for his idiocy…" Red Mage was up ahead, looking at the bigger formation of mold growing on the walls.

"If we take a look at the survival guide, it says we should follow the path of the mold. The throne room should be this way!" Red Mage concluded, as he began to walk so confidently towards his set path.

"Ah, screw it!" Black Mage shrugged, "_DIE, RM!_" He aimed his trusty new Fire2 spell at Red Mage, but Red Mage picked that exact moment to turn the corner, therefore avoiding the fireball and his doom entirely.

"_GAAAH! I HATE YOU! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?_" Black Mage asked, kicking and punching air. Red Mage, completely oblivious to Black Mage's murder attempt, poked his head back around the corner.

"BM, come on. Thief found the throne room, and we're going in without you!" he exclaimed. Black Mage choked another screaming frenzy of angry insults, and instead stuffed his hands into his pockets, his way of "resisting the urge to kill Red Mage."

After Red and Black Mage caught up to Thief and White Mage, Thief began to pick the lock to the door. White Mage looked at the sign next to it, then back at Thief, raising an eyebrow. Black Mage moaned.

"Don't tell me that door's locked too!" he groaned, frustrated.

"Not by the Mystic Key, but I can't pick it open!" Thief replied, just as annoyed. White Mage sighed and opened the door by turning the knob.

"You should really try common sense next time and first check to make sure it really is locked." White Mage said, both amused and slightly irritated. She and the other two mages walked into the room, leaving Thief out there to figure out what she said. After a few seconds, Thief ran in to join his friends.

And lo and behold, there was a king sitting on the throne.

"Hey, do you think that's Astos?" Thief whispered, pointing to the king.

"I doubt it. He looks too human." Red Mage replied, as the four slowly made their way up to the throne. The king began to sigh and moan in frustration when he saw them approach, which didn't fail to get on Black Mage's nerves very quickly.

"What's _your_ problem, you old fool?" Black Mage asked, narrowing his eyes. The king stopped and looked at Black Mage, then sobbed again.

"It is an utter disaster!" the king said, "Astos has ravaged my beautiful kingdom! And he stole my prized Crown! Without it, I am no longer king of this region!" The king began to sob pathetically again. White Mage looked around, unconvinced.

"But if that's so, why haven't we come across any dead bodies yet?" she asked. The king stopped crying and gave a cheesy smile.

"Everyone was on vacation when Astos attacked." He said, coming up with probably the worst excuse anyone's ever heard. Thief just shrugged.

"Works for me." He said, not even beginning to question.

"Yeah, well, get in line if you want us to cream him because we have a bunch of other things to do that involve kicking his sorry carcass." Black Mage said, waving his hand as he spoke. The king hopped off of his throne.

"There is no need! If I have the Crown, I'll find Astos myself. My Crown is my power." He said, proudly.

"Once again, get in line if you have some kind of idiotic quest for us because we already have at least 5 of those lined up. We're busy." Black Mage stated, praying to Chaos that this old man didn't want them to find his Crown. But to BM's horror, he did.

"Oh please! You must find my Crown! It is the only way I can fight Astos!" the king cried, "But… I understand if you can't find the time… to help an old man like me!" The king's eyes watered up and he began to cry again.

"I don't freakin' think so." Black Mage said, "We will not be swayed with tears. Right, guys?" Black Mage turned around and nearly screamed. The other three were looking sympathetically at the king.

"Of course we'll help you!" they all chorused. The king looked overjoyed, but Black Mage certainly wasn't.

"_WHAT?_" he screamed, "What about the billions of other quests we have to finish first?" Thief, however, had the answer.

"If we get this guy his Crown, he'll beat Astos for us and we can get the Crystal for Matoya and save ourselves a lot of time." Thief replied. Black Mage shrugged, he seemed to like the idea well enough.

"Just a question, though." Black Mage said, "Where is the Crown?"

"Astos has hidden it deep in the Marsh Cave to the south." The king answered, "Please, go there as soon as you can." The four nodded, and left the throne room to the world outside.

"Is it me, or did something seem really wrong with that guy?" Black Mage asked, as they once again were on the road to adventure.

"You think something is wrong with everyone, BM." White Mage replied with a bored tone. Red Mage looked back at everyone.

"I agree with BM here." He said, "Something about that king makes very little sense. I mean, he said his power came from the Crown, right?"

"And he said Astos hid the Crown after the attack." Thief added, "So you're wondering why he didn't use the Crown in the first place."

"Precisely." Red Mage said, "And is it really possible that no one except the king was around? It all seems odd to me as well." Black Mage did a touchdown kind of move.

"See, WM? I knew something fishy was going on, and RM and Thief believe me too!" Black Mage exclaimed proudly. White Mage, however, wasn't exactly convinced.

"So then what do you think is going on?" she asked, stopping and leaning on her hammer. Black Mage looked at Thief, who looked at Red Mage. Red Mage scratched his chin, obviously trying to come up with something.

"I think maybe he knows more than he's letting us on to believe." Red Mage answered, darkly, "I'm not saying it's a big deal, but it _is_ possible that he too may be another enemy of ours even if he's against Astos too."

"Another minion to Chaos?" White Mage asked. Red Mage shook his head.

"I doubt it. But at any rate, we can't get anything from him until we get the Crown, so in the meantime, we can plan our strategy as we find it." Red Mage said, as the group finally came out of the forest.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Thief agreed, as the sunlight hit him. Black Mage nodded, and White Mage smiled encouragingly. For a while, silence followed the group as they headed south per the king's instructions. But that silence was broken when Thief saw a shadow glide through the trees.

"Did you see that?" he asked, nervously. The others looked around, but they couldn't find anything.

"Maybe you need to rest or something." White Mage suggested gently. The shadow Thief saw stopped next to her, which made Thief's eyes pop out of his head.

"Yeah, nothing out here can possibly hurt you." it said, making everyone turn around sharply.

"Who the hell are you?" Black Mage demanded as everyone except Thief drew their weapons. The shadow thing shrugged with confusion.

"I'm just a wraith. Nothing harmless." It said, "I run the local item shop for out-of-the-way travelers." This made our heroes very confused. "So, what brings you all out here?" it asked.

"We're looking for the Marsh Cave." Red Mage replied skeptically.

"Oh, well it's this way." the Wraith said, leading our heroes south again, "You're lucky. It's not too far from here. See that hole? That's the Marsh cave." The Wraith pointed to a big hole, but the four were looking at what was above the hole. A huge flashing sign was above it, saying "Welcome to Marsh Cave!"

"This is an attraction site?" Black Mage asked angrily.

"Well, to us monsters, yes." The Wraith replied, "It's dark, dank, and really creepy."

"Oh… well, thank for your help." Black Mage said as the Wraith turned to leave, "And by the way, FIRE2!" Black Mage aimed another fireball at the Wraith, who died instantly. The other three stared in horror as Black Mage just went along as though nothing happened.

Inside the cave, however, was much different than the cheeriness of the outside world. It was really dark and creepy like the Wraith said. Not to mention there were bats everywhere too.

"Go away, you little pests!" Black Mage yelled as he tried to bat one away with a stick. Red Mage walked a little further ahead, and looked both ways.

"Which road to we take?" he asked, "North or South?"

"Gee, because it's not like monsters aren't around no matter which way we go." Black Mage said sarcastically, "I say we go back outside and pretend the king is just a liar."

"We should go South." White Mage said, "After all, the deeper parts of this place may be where the Crown is." Red Mage obviously agreed, because he started walking south. Thief and White Mage followed. Black Mage gave a heavy sigh and followed. Sure enough, they'd gone down a ladder, and landed in a hall with only about 50 different rooms in it.

"Okay… now which one has the Crown?" Red Mage asked. Thief looked around carefully until he spoke.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo. Catch a tiger by the toe." Thief started to sing, pointing to different doorways. Black Mage took another stick and threw it at Thief.

"I say we bust down all the doors until we find the right one." Black Mage said. So, they did that with every room until they came into one with a very mysterious altar with a chest sitting on top.

"I think we found it…" Thief whispered. Black Mage grinned and stepped forward.

"This wasn't so hard." He said, and he walked closer to the chest. White Mage looked at the tile in front of it and screamed.

"_BLACK MAGE, STOP!_" she yelled. But it was too late. Black Mage stepped on the tile, and a soft rumbling was heard.

"What is that?" Thief asked nervously. Red Mage drew his sword, and poised for an attack.

"Quiet… maybe it was nothing…" he said. But something inside him told him he was wrong, "We can only hope…"

So, our heroes finally made it to the Marsh Cave! What did Black Mage unleash? Be it friend, or foe? And is something really wrong with the king? Or is it just nerves? And will Fighter ever win Terra's love? Find out next chapter! So, click that Review button!


	8. And the bad guys get their butts handed ...

Hehe, time for another ridiculously hysterical chapter with our lovable warriors. But first… (opens mail bag) For FF reviewers, Chad, if you think Fighter's done now, wait until you read below. Glazy Jenni, I'm so glad I made you feel better! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my future chapters! Eternalprincess3, thanks! I'll make more chapters so you can admire my coolness. So, as always, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit.

Black Belt ran through the fields, searching everywhere for Fighter. Terra had refused the Masamune from him, even though Auron swore she'd love it. However, Black Belt stopped when he saw a group of people gathered around a small mountain.

"What's going on?" Black Belt asked, as he caught up to everyone.

"There's this red-headed guy climbing up the mountain. He says he's gonna sing something. Kind of crazy if you ask me." An old man replied. Black Belt sighed, and began walking up the path.

"Excuse me." He said as he pushed some people out of the way. Seeing as how it was a small mountain, it didn't take Black Belt too long to find Fighter. "Fighter, what are you doing?" he asked angrily when he saw his friend. Fighter turned around.

"Hey, BB! You're just in time!" Fighter exclaimed, microphone in hand. Black Belt just raised an eyebrow.

"In time for what, dare I ask?" Black Belt… asked. Fighter's smile grew.

"In time for my proclamation of love!" he replied, happy as can be, "If the sword didn't swoon Terra, my voice definitely will! I'll have you know I came in first place at my third grade talent show!" A sweat drop appeared over Black Belt's head.

"Wasn't that because everyone mysteriously died after your singing?" he asked, but Fighter ignored him. He turned on the microphone.

"_PEOPLE OF CHERRY TOWN AND CORNERIA, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?_" Fighter boomed into the microphone. Only a few people cheered him on, and they'd live to regret it dearly. Fighter turned the volume up as loud as he could, and began to sing with all of his might.

"_AND I… WILL ALWAAAAAAAAAAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUU! WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU!_" Fighter screamed into the microphone towards Terra's bar. Rumbling could be heard in the background, and soon huge piles of snow were rolling down the mountain. People started screaming as the snow crashed into their houses.

"Good job, Fighter! You caused an avalanche!" Black Belt yelled as they were being washed away by the snow. Fighter just grinned.

"At least my song was a smash hit! Get it?" Fighter asked. Black Belt's eyes narrowed.

"You're not funny." He said, "I hope our friends are doing better than we are…"

Back in the Marsh Cave, our heroes were waiting in fear for whatever was called from the rigged tile.

"Alright, this is ridiculous! If you're gonna scare us like that, get out here and show yourselves!" Black Mage yelled after a few minutes went by. Suddenly, a flash of white told them something was right outside the door.

"Hold on a minute!" hissed a voice that sounded strangely like a snake would, "We're old! Our bones are deteriorating! Give us some slack!" Sure enough, six white-robed figures with octopus heads hobbled slowly into the room.

"What the hell were _you_ supposed to be?" Black Mage asked, laughing. White Mage punched him in the stomach. One of the figures spoke up.

"We are the most dangerous cult in existence! How dare you talk to us, your new masters, that way!" it exclaimed, in an English accent. Thief blinked.

"Does King Cornelia know about this? I mean, he's the leader of the most powerful nation and I don't think he'd like it if you took over without him." Thief said, obviously not realizing that the old fools were enemies and were indeed the most annoying kind in the world.

"Shnnqwa, I TOLD you to make that appointment!" one of the figures said in frustration. The robed figure in the back, who was Shnnqwa, spat.

"You know these modern towns! They had waiting lines! I didn't have 75 years to wait just to see some stupid king!" Shnnqwa said. Suddenly, all of the robed figures started to fight, leaving the four heroes to stare confusedly at them all. Black Mage finally got sick of the fighting.

"Look, I realize you idiots have some issues, but can you please just tell us who you are so we can kill you?" Black Mage asked, drawing out his dagger. The figures all stared in horror.

"Listen, we may be Wizards, but that doesn't mean you should just slash us all to death! We're an endangered race here!" One of the other Wizards cried, "Don't we have protection rights?" Thief got out a pad of paper.

"Well, we're the Light Warriors, so it's out duty to protect those in danger. If you want, we can put you on our protection list." He offered. Shnnqwa stepped up.

"That would be appreciated. But just put us all under my name. It's so difficult to write all of our names, as we have different languages than you. I doubt you'd even comprehend what we'd say in our native tongue." Shnnqwa replied. Thief began writing her name down.

"That's two ns, right?" Thief asked, and turned to Red Mage, "Can you pronounce that? It'd be hard to get protection laws on these guys if we can even say their name." Red Mage grabbed the pad and examined the name.

"As a master of versatility, I've learned hundreds of monster languages. Clearly, this Wizard's name is Shanniqwa." Red Mage said. The Wizards gasped in fear.

"Holy Chaos! He knows how to speak our native tongue! We're doomed!" Shnnqwa exclaimed, as the other Wizards began to scream in deathly pain and horror.

"_That's_ your language? Oh please! It's easy to understand once you realize that all you guys did to differentiate your language from ours is take out most of the vowels. Not that hard, guys." Black Mage stated, tapping his foot impatiently. The Wizards all knelt down in fear.

"Please, spare us. Take whatever you need, just don't kill us!" they all said in unison. Black Mage rolled his eyes, but Thief put the pad back.

"There's no need for worries. You're already on our protection list, so we won't kill you." Thief reassured them.

"All we ask is if you can give us the Crown, or at least tell us where it is." Red Mage added. One of the Wizards got up and pointed behind Black Mage, to a treasure chest.

"There's a Crown in that box. Go ahead and take it, we just found it one day and have been waiting patiently for whoever lost it to show up." He explained. Black Mage walked over to the chest, and opened it up. And there it was, in all of its shiny and ruby-encrusted glory, the Crown. White Mage raised her eyebrows as she looked back at the Wizards.

"If you had every intention of giving the Crown back, why did you set up an alarm?" she asked.

"Well, we wanted to be ready to congratulate whoever lost that crown for making it this far. We recently turned our boring cave into a tourist's attraction, but some of the monsters who work here are a little more hostile." Shnnqwa explained.

"And by hostile, we mean they kill off any humans they come into contact with." Another Wizard added, "So I guess after a while, we kind of figured no one would even come here." Black Mage twirled the Crown around in his hands.

"Well, we got what we came here for, didn't we? I say we leave now and go get whatever piece of crap that old king guy considers a reward." Black Mage suggested, walking out of the room. White and Red Mage bid farewell to the Wizards and followed Black Mage.

"And remember guys, you're on protection now!" Thief exclaimed, waving goodbye, "No more getting killed off by knights for you!" The Wizards all gasped and danced around in excitement, until they noticed that smoke was wafting in through the upper floor.

"BM, what are you doing? We have to get moving!" White Mage stated angrily. Black Mage was just standing in front of the cave entrance, although no one could see exactly what he was doing.

"Oh, nothing! I'm just seeing if our new buddies are coming out!" Black Mage replied. He was thankful he had his back turned from his friends, or they would've seen the evil grin on his face. After his Fire2 spell lit the trail of twigs Black Mage set, he quickly ran back to his friends.

"HEY! Be careful up there! There's smoke coming down here!" one of the Wizards called, not realizing BM had cast the spell. Black Mage ignored the call and kept walking. Suddenly, the entire Marsh Cave exploded, sending rocks, doors, and Wizards flying through the air. Red Mage looked up at the sky.

"What was _that?_" he asked, his hat falling off from the force of the explosion. White Mage and Thief shrugged and asked the same thing. Black Mage whistled innocently as they tried to think of what could've set off such an explosion.

"Oh, what difference does it make? Point is, there's no more marsh for the little kids to go falling in to. I say we just leave now before anything like that happens to us." Black Mage said crossly, before adding under his breath, "…or, happens to you to be more precise." The other three agreed, and they walked through the burnt destruction of what used to be the Elfland forest.

"Wow, is it me? Or is it easier getting back to the castle?" Thief asked as they quickly walked by the small pond near the western castle.

"Well, the explosion totally wiped out all of the plant life here, therefore getting rid of the only obstacle in our way to the castle." Red Mage replied, "I'm still wondering what set off such a blast!" Black Mage stomped to a halt, waving his arms in the air.

"Does it really matter who did it?" Black Mage asked angrily, "It's not like I would've used my magic any other way! So, let's drop the matter and get moving!" He started to storm off again until he noticed the other three were glaring at him. "_WHAT NOW?_"

"YOU destroyed the forest?" Red Mage asked.

"BM, how could you?" White Mage demanded, in tears.

"Dude, you are so going to holy hell if the elves find out about this." Thief said.

"If? I just destroyed their homeland! They're gonna find out eventually. And so what? They're the reason we had to go into that cracked-out monster hellhole in the first place! If it weren't for the fact that they're immune to my magic, those elves would've been dead a long time ago." Black Mage stated, amused with his work. He began to stroll towards the castle for the third time, the others following at a safe distance.

"At this rate, we won't have a world to protect." White Mage sighed, putting her hand on her face. Thief whispered something to Red Mage, who handed him a Brady Games guide.

"Not to worry, WM. RM said that if we can get our class changes, BM's additional bonus points will go into manners and good morals instead of evil and meanness!" Thief exclaimed, showing her the page Red Mage circled. Underneath it was an ad from Bahamut stating pure power if anyone could find his missing rat tail. White Mage took the book and read it carefully.

"That's great, but we'd have to go to Dragon's Cave islands, and do you know how far that is? It'd take forever!" White Mage responded, handing Thief the book back. After that, nothing was said as they made their way to the western castle.

When the three got to the rusted gates, they saw that Black Mage already made his merry way inside. Or, blasted his way in. The gates were blown right off their hinges. No one said a word as they followed the path of destruction towards the throne room. Black Mage was waiting for them outside the door.

"Geez, it sure took you guys long enough." Black Mage said, annoyed, "What was the hold-up?"

"Oh, we were just admiring the chaos and damage you caused on your way in." White Mage sarcastically replied. Black Mage grinned as Red Mage proceeded to open the door. As soon as he did, Black Mage marched proudly up to the king, holding the Crown for all to see.

"King of whatever this place used to be, we have your Crown!" Black Mage said, "And might I add that we've had to slay dragons and ogres alike to get it!" Thief looked confused as Black Mage continued to tell his lie.

"But I thought those Wizards gave it to us!" Thief exclaimed, tilting his head. Red and White Mage chuckled, seeing Black Mage get his scheme busted. Black Mage turned and gave a death glare, before speaking to the king again.

"Well, yeah, the Wizards did hand it to us, but we had to fight horrible monsters on the way to the cave!" Black Mage said quickly.

"But I thought the monsters _helped_ us get to the cave. Then you killed them, remember?" Thief asked. A vein appeared in Black Mage's head, and he turned around stiffly.

"Thief, if you don't shut the hell up, I swear I'll rip out your liver, cook it, and then feed it to you." Black Mage threatened, "Then, and maybe then, I'll think about showing you mercy with a quick death." The king hopped off of his throne.

"Fellows, it matters not how you saved my beloved Crown, but the point is, you have! Now I can attain my true powers once again!" The king stated happily, and took the Crown out of Black Mage's hand.

"I'm truly glad we could help you, sir. But now there is something we'd like to discuss. It concerns the information you have about Astos and getting the Crystal back for Matoya." Red Mage said in his I'll-be-so-polite-everyone-will-help-us voice. The king just laughed.

"Oh yes, your reward…" The king repeated, turning around. His eyes began to blow with an evil red glint, and he unleashed a powerful air attack, sending the four straight into the wall.

"Ow… What was that for?" Thief asked, rubbing his arm.

"Sir, why are you doing this?" White Mage asked, as Red Mage slid off the wall.

"Because, you four are SO easy to fool." The king replied, "Did you not wonder where my subjects went?"

"Actually, we did." Black Mage said flatly. Thief and Red Mage climbed a ladder while the king continued to reveal his evil nature.

"Well, I am Astos! But I did not lie. I did kill my people, and I could not defeat myself in order to bring complete destruction on this pathetic castle. But you fools have given me the power I need to control this world! I should thank you, so I will make your death as quick as I can." Astos said, and laughed. Black Mage looked at Thief. Thief gave a signal to keep Astos occupied while he and Red Mage found a way to kill him. A sweat drop appeared over Black Mage's head, but he took out a gil.

"Look, dude. I didn't come out here to lose my life to some _nobody_ like yourself. How about a nice, shiny gil to make you go away?" Black Mage asked, confidently holding up the gil. Astos looked at it and fell on the floor in hysterical laughter.

"Y-you honestly expect me to accept _that_!" Astos asked, continuing to laugh. Thief and Red Mage had made it to the top of a chandelier, and Thief had his dagger out.

"No, but we were expecting you to forget about us!" Thief replied. Astos got up quickly and screeched. Thief had cut the rope holding the chandelier up, and it fell, crashing right on top of Astos! Thief and Red Mage jumped before it landed, and they were safely on the ground now.

"YEAH! We did it!" Thief and Red Mage exclaimed together, dancing and giving everyone high-fives. Black Mage's sweat drop got bigger.

"_That_ was your big plan?" he asked, annoyed.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Thief asked, "Anyway, I say we get out of here." He, White, and Black Mage headed out the door until Red Mage called.

"Wait! We can't forget about the Crystal! That's why we're here, remember?" Red Mage said, and walked over to Astos's now dead body. He took a shining crystal out of Astos's pocket, and then ran out after the others.

"Well, good. We're about half-way done with this stupid quest." Black Mage said as they left the abandoned castle. Red Mage chuckled, throwing the Crystal in the air and catching it.

"On the contrary, I think our adventure is only beginning to pick up. Who knows what other quests will be intertwined with this one?" Red Mage asked, smiling happily.

"Yeah, no thanks to you…" Black Mage mumbled. Then he looked up at the sky.

"Oh well, it could be worse. Matoya could've been disguised as Chaos… Let's just get there as fast as we can…"

And so, our heroes successfully killed Astos! But now what? Can they get back to Matoya without their boat? And is Matoya really Chaos in a cheap witch costume? What happened to Fighter and Black Belt? All will be answered in the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	9. The completion of a side quest and reali...

The last chapter made me laugh so hard, I think it's time to continue the craziness! But first… (opens mailbag) Chad, I doubt the world's going to implode. If it was, it would've done so already. Glazy, I'm not quite sure how they'll get back either. I do have a few ideas in mind, though… Anyway, as always, I don't own FF or 8-bit.

Black Belt and Fighter sat outside the destroyed ruins of what was once a happy, merry, little town. Snow was everywhere, logs were astray, phone polls were broken, basically everything was screwed up.

"Good going, Fighter. Now where are we supposed to hang out?" Black Belt asked, kicking a snowball. Fighter looked around.

"We can…" Fighter began as he looked at Terra's bar, "Oh wait, I destroyed that…"

"You destroyed everything!" Black Belt cried, "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere because you were trying to woo a girl who _hates_ you!" He and Fighter continued down the cold, lonely street of Cherry. Snow began to drift, which somehow made Black Belt feel nostalgic and think about his old dojo. But sadly, he'd been thinking so much that he smacked into a wall.

"OW! What the…?" Black Belt looked up, "What is this?"

"It's a tower! A big, beautiful tower! We're saved!" Fighter said, hugging the wall. Then he began to dance around happily, "We're saved, we're saved! Saved, saved, saved, saved, saved!"

"_SAVED FROM WHAT?_" Black Belt asked, "If you haven't noticed, there's nothing to be safe from. It's a cold, lonely town. No one's out here."

"But it IS cold. I bet there's a fire inside!" Fighter exclaimed, and ran into the tower, knocking the door off its hinges as he ran. Black Belt sighed.

"I remember when life was… quiet and peaceful. Then HE came along…" Black Mage said bitterly, walking inside.

Meanwhile, our heroes were waiting outside a boat store. Red Mage was reading an old Nick magazine, and White Mage was window shopping. Black Mage was kicking a can around, getting very edgy.

"I don't understand why we're here." Black Mage stated. White Mage looked away from a dress display towards him.

"In case you forgot, you broke our boat, remember?" White Mage explained, a sweat drop over her head, "So we need to get a new one to return to Matoya's cave." Red Mage looked up from his magazine.

"Well, I wouldn't worry. Thief is in there, so how bad can it get?" he asked.

"Oh, it can get pretty bad…" Black Mage replied, a streak of blue appearing across his face. Red Mage put his magazine down and took out his Brady Games guide.

"I'd disagree. If you look here, it says the thief has the highest Charisma skill of ANY class! And shopkeepers dig charisma!" Red Mage explained happily. Black Mage took the guide, rolled it up, and smacked it across Red Mage's head.

"Stat bonuses and skill points my _foot_!" he spat, "This is THIEF we're talking about! Next to you, he's the one who'll probably get us killed on this stupid quest!" Just then, Thief walked out of the store, and he certainly didn't look happy.

"Bad news, guys…" he said, walking up to his friends, "They just let the last boat off. Unless we can find another dragon or pay someone to take us, we're stuck here." Black Mage threw his staff down and pointed stiffly at Thief.

"SEE? I _told_ you he'd be the one to get us killed!" Black Mage screamed, "He's a curse!" Black Mage began to hyperventilate, and his eye started to twitch crazily, giving him that freaky mad scientist look. Then White Mage smacked him over the head with her hammer. Black Mage fell with a thud.

"BM, why don't you curl up in a corner and take a nap?" White Mage suggested bitterly, "This isn't Thief's fault. It's yours." Black Mage got up quickly, and stared at her with a stupid expression on his face.

"My fault? Why would this be _my fault_?" he asked, shocked that anyone would blame him, although everyone DID blame him.

"Because you broke our boat!" Thief exclaimed defensively.

"Do you have any proof that I did it?" Black Mage asked. '_Maybe if I play dumb like RM does, they won't think I had anything to do with that piece of crap sinking… even though I did. Hehehe…_' Black Mage thought. Thief raised an eyebrow, and Red Mage handed him a slip of paper.

"Well, according to RM's note, you threw the steering wheel at his head!" Thief replied, "Not to mention you kicked the railings off, stopped RM's work towards the anchor, threatened to zap us all, and ate the last can of baked beans!" Black Mage glared at Red Mage, who smiled nervously.

"Yeah, I _might_ have mentioned lightning, but can you blame me for the baked beans?" Black Mage cried, "I was hungry! It was either the beans, or I cook you two idiots up and eat you." Black Mage pointed to Thief and Red Mage. White Mage rolled her eyes.

"Idiocies aside, we're still stranded." She stated, "Let's not dwell on the past. We need to find a way off this continent and back to Pravoca." White Mage began walking towards the port Mat had dropped them off at.

"I think WM is right." Thief shrugged, and followed White Mage.

"I'm sure if we look, we might find some of the ship parts and make some kind a vehicle to bring us back." Red Mage added, and walked out of the town as well. A sweat drop appeared over Black Mage, and his eyes narrowed.

"Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll have a sharp piece of metal I can jam into your head." He muttered, and followed the others at a safe distance. When he got to the beach, he saw White Mage and Thief digging in the sand, as Red Mage fished for something in the water. Thief grinned and waved as he saw Black Mage, who in turn waved back, although he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about seeing Thief.

"Hey, BM! You're just in time!" Thief exclaimed.

"And just what the hell are you doing?" Black Mage asked, looking suspiciously at Red Mage. Red Mage stopped "fishing" and walked over, trying to wrangle the water out of his hat.

"We found a part of the engine to the ship, and I'm sure there might be more here." He explained, "Thief said he already found a piece of wood." Black Mage sighed.

"Do you even think? We can't rebuild the ship, and even if we could, it would just break down again." Black Mage stated, and for once he didn't sound angry or annoyed.

"I know that! But if we find enough materials, we might be able to build a raft." Red Mage replied, showing Black Mage the blueprint he made for a simple-looking raft. Then he went back to his work. Black Mage looked at the blueprint, and then at everyone else.

"I already have enough materials for a raft…" he mumbled. '_A human raft, anyway. Well, I might spare WM. She's kind of nice. But if I find some rope, I'm DEFINITELY tying Red Mage and Thief together. They should be strong enough to hold me up as I float gently back to Cornelia. Screw this save the world crap.'_ Black Mage thought to himself again, grinning psychotically.

"BM, are you okay? You've been twitching and grinning oddly all day!" Thief exclaimed, sounding a little worried. Black Mage shook out his evil plans and smiled a fake reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Thief! Just thinking about… an idea for the raft!" Black Mage blurted out, then cursed himself. White Mage looked up away from the sand.

"You have a suggestion?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah! Our raft will need a sail." Black Mage replied, nervously.

"That sounds like a good idea. We'd need to catch the wind somehow." Red Mage agreed. Black Mage smiled again, although he wanted to throw up for being so nice.

"I'll go and get the sail!" Black Mage said, and quickly ran off the beach back towards Elfheim. '_Grrr! Why didn't I just blast them all and make a raft out of them?_' Black Mage asked himself, getting into another mental argument. Then he began to wonder why he was in a mental argument against himself in the first place. As he thought, Black Mage walked back into Elfheim, passing by the orphanage.

"Let's see… I told those buffoons I'd get a sail… Hmm…" Black Mage looked around and spotted a blanket inside the orphanage. He grinned evilly as the new thought occurred to him.

"If I steal that blanket, my problem's solved! But my stealth points suck…" Black Mage said, then wrinkled his nose, "Great, now I sound like RM." He shrugged and peeped his head into the window, and nearly screamed.

"Where are all these damn Wizards _coming from?_" Black Mage hissed, looking around. Wizard kids were everywhere, eating snacks and playing with toys.

"Now, what happened to them all?" a White Wizard asked a Shaman.

"It's amazing, really. They all escaped a fire, but their parents were fried to a crisp!" the Shaman replied, "But no one knows who did it!" Another sweat drop rolled down Black Mage's face, and he quickly snatched away all the blankets he could.

"Well, they'll be safe here. It's a good thing we've gotten all these blankets! It's supposed to be freezing tonight!" the White Wizard exclaimed, walking over to the blanket box. Black Mage quickly shuffled away towards the beach.

"AAAAH! Where are all of the blankets?" the White Wizard screamed, "The children will freeze! Why, God, why?" All Black Mage could do was giggle as he broke into a run.

Back at the beach, the three had found enough wood to make a raft, and now Red Mage was building a sturdy raft for them to ride in. Thief made a pole to put the sail on, and White Mage began to shape the oars. Black Mage walked towards them with his usual confidence and threw the blankets on the beach.

"Not only did I get a sail, we have bedding too." Black Mage stated proudly. White Mage sniffed them.

"They smell like baby powder." She said simply, looking at Black Mage suspiciously. Thief picked one up and examined it.

"Why does it say "Property of the Little Folk Orphanage?" Thief asked, just as suspicious. Black Mage began to sweat. He had to think of a lie, and fast!

"They gave me those!" Black Mage replied, "I told them they should be used for the children, but they just said they had more than enough! But those poor children! At the hands of _murderers_!" Black Mage pretended to cry as White Mage put her hand on his shoulder.

"We should go and take care of this right now!" White Mage said firmly, and walked towards the gate. Black Mage's eyes widened as he saw his plan blow up before his eyes. He walked over and blocked White Mage's path.

"We shouldn't go back there!" he exclaimed, "These guys were psychotic! They were nuts!" He moved his arms frantically to show what he meant. '_Oh man, I'm so screwed…_' he told himself. White Mage passed him.

"I doubt we'll have a problem." She said. Black Mage looked and saw the orphanage workers walking towards the beach.

"Guess what? _TIME TO GO!_" Black Mage yelled, pushing White Mage, Thief, and Red Mage onto the raft. Then he took the oar and paddled off shore and into the unknown. After a few minutes of silence as Black Mage paddled down the sea, Thief started to whine nervously.

"BM, are you sure you know where you're going?" Thief asked. Since they pushed off the Elfland beach, they hadn't seen any signs of civilization. But then again, they hadn't seen any signs of monsters either. Black Mage wiped his forehead and turned to face Thief.

"No, and I don't care. I just want to get off Keebler's Island as soon as possible." Black Mage replied in frustration. Thief shrugged and continued to count how much gil they had. Red Mage took out his game guide and flipped through it for a map.

"That stupid book won't help us out here, you nimrod! Give me that!" Black Mage snapped, grabbing the Brady Games book and throwing it into the sea. Red Mage chuckled, and scoured the area.

"That isn't a problem anymore!" Red Mage exclaimed, "I see a patch of mold over there!" Black Mage quickly looked and blew up the rock which held said mold.

"Not anymore." Black Mage said, as everyone watched the fire crackle and burn with extreme delight. Red Mage fell to his knees and began to cry. He even took off his hat, and blew his nose.

"Are you not mad? You've destroyed our only guide through here! We're helpless now!" Red Mage exclaimed through sobs of tears. Black Mage sighed, and choked back angry screams of rage. White Mage also seemed annoyed, but she found a more positive way to deal with it.

"RM, think of it this way. If we're in the unknown, we'll get stronger! The experience we get from both fighting and the vastness of the world will make up for the guidance we lost." White Mage said comfortingly. Red Mage immediately perked up.

"Well then, I say full speed ahead!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

After about two hours, Black Mage found his way to the Cornelian Bridge dock, to his dismay. The foursome got off and soon were walking through the forest back to Matoya's cave. Oddly enough, they hadn't run into any monsters.

"Okay, I've heard of a break, but this is just weird." Black Mage said, and looked behind a tree, "Where are all the monsters?"

"Maybe they're all sleeping. It IS a Sunday, after all." Thief stated. Black Mage found a stick and hurled it at Thief, hitting him in the head and making him fall into a mud puddle.

"Thief, just shut the hell up." Black Mage commanded angrily. After a few more minutes, they finally came to the pathway leading to Matoya's cave. Black Mage grinned and ran up to the cave door, only to scream with utter rage and hatred.

"BM, what's wrong?" White Mage asked, "Did you get hurt?"

"_I HATE THAT OLD WOMAN!_" Black Mage shrieked, kicking and screaming. Thief walked up to the door, read the note that was on it, and laughed.

"I told you it was a Sunday! Don't you know that no one does anything on a Sunday?" Thief asked. Black Mage grabbed the note and ate it, then he started to bang on the door.

"Hey, old lady! Get up! We have your stupid Crystal! OPEN UP NOW!" Black Mage yelled, "Fine, have it your way!" He stepped back and aimed a fire spell. Then he threw it towards the door, which knocked it straight off its hinges. Smirking proudly, Black Mage stepped inside, and beckoned for the others to follow. When they came into Matoya's room, they saw her napping on her bed. Black Mage crept closer to her.

"_WAKEY, WAKEY! EGGS AND BACEY!_" Black Mage yelled as loudly as he could. Matoya woke up with a start and fell off the bed. She stood up, grumbling angrily.

"What are you all doing here? Can you not read the sign I put outside?" she asked, straightening up her bed. Thief rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, we did, but then BM ate it." Thief replied. Matoya fluffed up her pillows, then turned back to the heroes, placing her hands on her hips.

"I see. Now that you've disturbed my nap, what do you want?" she asked. Black Mage held out the Crystal.

"Here. Here's your stinkin' Crystal. Can we please just have our reward and get out of here?" he asked, annoyance ringing clear as… well, the Crystal. Matoya tilted her head in thought, then snapped her fingers. She ran into a back room and came out holding a small bottle.

"Ah! I know! This will help you!" she said, and gave Black Mage the bottle. He examined it skeptically, then frowned.

"A potion? We go traversing through marshes and old castles for a _potion_?" he asked, a growl emerging in his voice.

"Not just any potion! It's called a Jolt Tonic, and it'll wake anyone up! I'm sure you passed the Elf Castle and saw the sleeping prince, right? Well, give this to him, and he might be able to help you all find the first fiend of the elements." She explained. Thief, Red and White Mage smiled approvingly at the reward, but Black Mage was furious.

"WHAT? That's our reward for nearly getting killed? Another piece of information I don't want to hear? That's almost like no reward at all!" Black Mage whined, clenching his fists and shaking with rage, "And are you telling me we have to _go back_ to Elfland now?"

"Well, how else are you going to wake up the Elf Prince?" Matoya asked.

"_BUT WE DON'T HAVE A BOAT ANYMORE! OUR RAFT IS PROBABLY OGRE CHOW BY NOW!_" Black Mage screamed angrily. Thief patted Black Mage on the back as White and Red Mage said goodbye to Matoya.

"We'll just have to go back to Pravoca and buy a boat. I'm sure that old pirate is still there, maybe he has another boat he can lend us!" Thief suggested happily as the four emerged back into the sunlight. Black Mage hung his head.

"Oh joy… Let's just hurry. I'd like to keep my sanity until we get to the first fiend where I can release all my anger on it and kill it with one fell swoop."

And so, our heroes have completed their very first side quest! But can they get a new boat? Will BM keep his sanity like he wants? And what'll happen to Fighter and BB now? All will be answered next chapter, so click that review button!


	10. Finally hitting the road! Er, I mean sea...

Awww, only one review? That makes me sad! Anyway, Jenni, it would be VERY dangerous for Fighter and BM to travel together. And they HAVE, in fact, driven me to insanity! Why else would I write a story as crazy as this? So, as always, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit!

Black Belt walked into the tower cautiously. Fighter was happily sitting on a big armchair, sipping a cup of coffee. He waved when he saw Black Belt.

"BB, you've got to try this coffee! It's excellent!" Fighter exclaimed. Black Belt's eyes widened. The last thing Fighter needed was caffeine. Black Belt rushed up to the desk and pounded on the little bell. A muscular blonde guy came out.

"Welcome to the Returners' Rescue Center. Can I help you?" He asked. Black Belt squinted at the little label on his shirt that read "Sabin."

"Yeah, do you have a tranquilizer? My friend over there is hyperactive and any amount of caffeine will set him off like a firecracker." Black Belt explained quickly. Sabin looked at Fighter and shrugged.

"He's been there for ten minutes and nothing's happened yet." Sabin replied.

"Just give me a tranquilizer!" Black Belt commanded sternly. Sabin raised an eyebrow, but took out a box containing medical supplies. He took out bandages, ointments, and potions, but no tranquilizers.

"Looks like we're out." Sabin mumbled. Just then, Fighter started laughing, and run up to Black Belt.

"I'm bored, Black Belt! Can we play?" Fighter asked very quickly, poking Black Belt, "Can we? Can we? Huh? Can we play?" Black Belt turned around.

"Sit down!" Black Belt yelled, pointing to a chair, then turned to Sabin, "Help!"

"No problem! I also happen to be a gym instructor! One session with me and he'll be sleeping like a baby." Sabin reassured. Black Belt sighed and dragged Fighter along as Sabin led him to a small gym.

Meanwhile, our heroes were making it back to Pravoca in search of a boat. Everyone was thankful that they'd become stronger. They practically blew through any opposition.

"I've come to the conclusion that everyone is against our killing the first fiend!" Black Mage cried as they walked down the meadows. Thief scratched his head.

"Well of _course_ they're against us!" he exclaimed, "They're monsters! They're _supposed_ to be against us!" Black Mage hit Thief over the head with his staff.

"I meant Matoya, King Corn-head, and that sleeping Elf prince, and everyone else we've come into contact with!" Black Mage hissed, throwing his hands up in frustration, "Think about it. We started this quest over two weeks ago, and we're no closer to relighting any orbs than we were when we started! In fact, we're in even worse trouble now!"

"But if you think about it, some of the monsters are actually _helping_ us." White Mage stated, "And the only reason that we're lagging behind is because you destroyed our boat." Black Mage stopped stiffly.

"_WHY DO YOU ALL KEEP ACCUSING ME OF THAT?_" Black Mage screamed, making a few Cockatrices fly away, "If you don't remember, Thief was the one steering! And Red Mage was the one who accepted that piece of cardboard in the first place!"

"That's why we're going to Pravoca." Red Mage said, "Bikke gave us the boat."

"I don't think I'm following!" Black Mage cried, tapping his foot impatiently, "Why would Bikke, leader of a band of notorious and VERY dangerous bandits, help _us_?"

"Because he promised us he would!" Thief replied, optimistically.

"Doesn't it occur to anyone but me that Bikke might be _lying_?" Black Mage asked, "We killed his troops, killed his boss, stole his boat, and sunk it!"

"I thought he gave us his boat." Thief said, tilting his head in confusion. Black Mage barely resisted the urge to strangle his bandana-bearing comrade.

"_THAT'S NOT THE POINT, YOU CHOWDERHEAD!_" Black Mage screeched, his head getting bigger in an anime-style cartoon. Red Mage just smiled.

"Look, all we need to worry about for now is getting to Pravoca." He said, walking along confidently, "We'll cross the bridge of getting a boat later." Thief shrugged and walked next to Red Mage. White Mage didn't respond. Black Mage mumbled something then followed his three friends.

For a while, no one spoke until they reached the gates to Pravoca. They stepped in, and it sure looked different from last time! People were everywhere, and the shops were reopened, too.

"Wow! You're the dudes that beat up those pirates!" a guy with a Mohawk said, running up to them. He shook Red Mage's hand, but Black Mage ignored him. When he left, more people began to cheer as the four walked through the streets.

"Man, people really love us!" Thief exclaimed happily, as girls threw flowers at him. Old seniors came out cheering, children were singing, and dancers danced merrily as they passed. And Black Mage wanted to kill them all.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed as a girl handed him a rose, "So we killed a wussy pirate! Who cares! Leave us the hell alone!" He stomped off into a shop and sulked in a dark corner until the other three came in. White Mage sighed when she walked in. Obviously, she'd grown tired of the praise as well. But it was clear that Red Mage and Thief had not.

"Idiots, _GET IN HERE_!" Black Mage screamed as he opened the front door and dragged the two in. Red Mage straightened out his cape where Black Mage had wrinkled it, and Thief looked around curiously.

"Where ARE we?" he asked, "It's dusty, and I can't see with all of this darkness!"

"Argh, you be in Bikke's Boating Store!" came a gruff voice from behind the well-hidden counter.

"And we'll assume you are Bikke?" White Mage asked, carefully walking through the dark aisle.

"Aye, that I be, lass." He said, "The one and only pirate o' the seas. Are ye interested in buying yerself a boat?" White Mage nodded, and Bikke turned on the store lights. He nearly screamed when he saw the merry little group.

"AAAH! What in Davy Jones would you all be doing here? I paid me dues! I gave up me life o' pillaging!" Bikke cried, sweat pouring down his face. Red Mage respectfully took off his hat and bowed.

"We aren't here to fight again, good sir." Red Mage said gently, "We are here to purchase a boat. As you see, the one you supplied us with sunk a great while ago, and we are in dire need of another."

"Mainly because yours was a piece of crap." Black Mage muttered. White Mage nudged him hard in the elbow. Bikke's eyes widened at hearing the fate of his boat.

"Ye… _YE SANK MY BOAT?_" He screeched, "Me own mother got that for me on my 25th birthday… Oh mommy…" He sobbed and whined and whimpered. He rocked back and forth, and sucked on his thumb like a big baby.

"Oh, suck it up you big baby!" Black Mage hissed after letting this go on for twenty minutes, "We're paying customers here! Do you have a boat or not?"

"No amount o' money will get me boat back!" Bikke wailed. Black Mage shook with outrage, and his eye twitched crazily to add to it. Thief glanced and stepped back quickly.

"Screw this! I've HAD it with you morons!" Black Mage yelled viciously, "_DIE, YOU PITIFUL FOOLS!_" He was about to aim a devastating attack until White Mage quickly hit him with her hammer, knocking him out. She looked at Bikke.

"We're sorry about your boat, and we will gladly name our new boat after you. But we need a boat now. Do you have anything?" White Mage asked. Bikke sniffled, and nodded. He walked into the back room and came out a minute later with some papers.

"Aye, I have one boat left. This here is the paperwork ye need to fill out. As a formality, o' course." He stated, and handed Red Mage the papers and a pen. Red Mage sat in a chair and looked over them carefully. Thief read them over his shoulder as well. Bikke sat behind his desk, patiently watching them.

"Hmm, only had 10,000 sea miles on it, no leaks, no broken parts, and it holds plenty of cargo space. Sounds like a good deal." Red Mage said, flipping through the papers, "What do you both think?"

"Fighter will be happy at all the swords we'd be able to bring back." Thief replied.

"Sounds like a decent deal. How much, though?" White Mage asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Argh, for that one, it'll be 100,000 gil, mateys." Bikke answered. The three snapped their heads and stared at him.

"100,000?" they all asked in unison.

"We'll NEVER afford that!" White Mage cried, "Can you not give us a discount?"

"Wait, we still have Astos's crown, right?" Thief asked, and White Mage nodded, "What if we give it to Bikke? Will that cover the debt?" Bikke's eyes gleamed.

"Let me see that there crown." He said. Red Mage shrugged and gave him the crown. It shimmered as the rubies in it gleamed with light. Bikke's eyes nearly popped out of his head at such a sight. "ARGH! This be the most beautiful crown in the seven seas!" he exclaimed, examining the crown closely.

"Will that cover the cost?" Red Mage asked. Bikke nodded vigorously.

"It pay for it threefold, lad! Take yer boat, and set sail!" Bikke said, giving Red Mage the key to the boat. The four heroes bid farewell, and left for the Pravoca port. Once again, though, a blonde pirate walked out.

"Bikke, where be my boat?" Faris asked, "I saw four scurvy seadogs taking it away!"

"Oh, that be true, me dear." Bikke replied, "They gives me a crown of true beauty in exchange for yer boat. I says it fair deal!" Faris smacked Bikke over the head with an ore.

"YE BE AN IDIOT!" she cried, "We've no need for crowns!"

Meanwhile, at the Pravoca port, Thief and Red Mage were starting up their boat as White Mage set up some furniture that just happened to be in the cargo room. Black Mage was sitting in a chair.

"You won't break down the boat this time, will you?" White Mage asked him, as she put a chair near the steering wheel. Black Mage scoffed.

"Of course not! This time, it looks like we have a decent boat on our hands." Black Mage replied, "If anything, I'd have to _burn_ this boat to break it, and then I'd be setting myself on fire. And I'd never do that!" White Mage sighed at the thought of such a thing. Black Mage smiled until the boat gave an unhappy jolt, sending him face-first into the ground.

"What the hell? THIEF!" Black Mage spat, getting up.

"Sorry!" Thief exclaimed nervously, a sweat drop rolling down his head, "Man, these driving instructions are in an alien language! I can't tell which is reverse and which is forward!" He looked at the lever by the wheel. One way said "Backwards!" and the other was respectively "Forwards!" Red Mage took a look.

"Judging by the way this lever is facing, and the circumference of the world's circular shape… hold on." Red Mage took out a pad and started scribbling, "Take the 2 here… put a division sign there… add emc2…"

"You push the lever up, morons." Black Mage said flatly. Thief and Red Mage shrugged, and pushed it up. Oh holy White Mages, the boat actually started! Black Mage sat back in his seat as Thief came over to join him. "I thought you were driving." Black Mage said as he sat down.

"Nah, I decided that should be Red Mage's job since he's the leader and all." Thief replied cheerfully. Black Mage choked on his water as he heard this, and spat into the sea.

"No way! No WAY is that mold-worshipping _lunatic_ going to drive me to Happy-fairy-elf Land! And who exactly made HIM the leader!" Black Mage asked, implying that everyone should answer, "I certainly didn't elect him!"

"I saw no problems with it. He's a decent man." White Mage said, shaking out a rug.

"He seemed the logical choice since he got us out of so many jams!" Thief answered, proudly.

"I just always _assumed_ I was the leader." Red Mage said, steering the boat carefully. Black Mage's veins nearly blew, and he hopped up and down angrily.

"_I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO ASSUME!_" he screamed, aiming a Fire2 spell. But Red Mage turned the boat just a little too much to the left, and once again avoided certain death. Black Mage choked back a blood-curdling scream.

"Hey, is that land?" Thief asked, pointing to the port up ahead.

"That's Elfland, all right." White Mage said, squinting her eyes. She could tell, because what once was the biggest forest known to man was now reduced to a lifeless desert of nothing but elves and dead plants.

"Place looks worse for the ware." Black Mage commented, snickering.

"It wouldn't be that way if you could just control yourself!" White Mage hissed, a large frown upon her face. Black Mage threw his hands up.

"Can you _blame_ me? I'm a _Black Mage_! It's in my personality to cause destruction!" Black Mage cried, "Just ask Thief or Captain McStupid over there!"

"Actually, it's only our preset stats that are determined." Red Mage said, as he docked the boat, "But our unique personalities are totally our own. We can't ask a game guide to determine what we as humans like and hate. It's the day-to-day events that dictate who we grow into." Black Mage stared, his mouth nearly dropping to the floor.

"Wow, did he actually say something that made perfect sense?" Black Mage asked as they left the boat, "That's a first!" White Mage silently agreed as they began to make the lifeless journey to the Elfland Castle.

After they went through the castle gates, the four were relieved to find that there were still elves inside the castle. Of course, they were still worried about the prince, but that didn't squash the relief everyone felt.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Save your stupid prince! We're working on it! Out of our way!" Black Mage said as he strolled proudly through the halls, brandishing the Jolt Tonic. White Mage just sighed with disapproval, but at least Black Mage's words cleared a straight path to the throne room! Inside, they found the Chancellor.

"Oh, thank the heavens! You've found the tonic!" he exclaimed happily, "Bring it here!" Black Mage gave him the tonic, and he dumped it all over the sleeping prince.

"So, how long does this take to work?" Black Mage asked when nothing happened for ten minutes. The Chancellor was also getting confused, but then the prince opened an eye.

"Ah, such a nice nap." He said, turning to the four heroes, "You must be the four chosen ones, said to bring peace to the world."

"Yup, that's us." Black Mage said, "So, where do we go from here? We've got things to do." The prince looked around thoughtfully.

"The first crystal you save should be the Earth crystal. It's in danger, as the fiend is making the earth around it rot." The prince explained, "But it's far to the east, and you'll need the help of the dwarves to get through."

"Why would we need their help? They're mean!" Black Mage cried, shivering.

"To the east is Mt. Duegar, but it blocks the path to Melmond, the village northwest of the Earth Cave, and of Sarda the Sage." The prince said, "The dwarves can dig the tunnel to allow passage, and although they detest humans, they cannot deny that the crystals come first."

"But what does this Sarda guy have to do with anything?" Thief asked, scratching his head.

"Sarda has the Earth Rod, which you'll need to get into the cave. Seek him out first." The prince said sternly, "Good luck."

"Wait, that's it? No rewards? No supplies? No nothing!" Black Mage yelled.

"We would give you something, but our forests and lands have been burned. We've not the supplies for anything!" the prince said, sadly. White Mage and Thief dragged Black Mage out as Red Mage bid farewell.

"We'd better move FAST or you're dead." White Mage said, and they quickly made it back to the port. They boarded the boat, and soon were once again off towards the unknown.

"Well, it looks like this adventure is finally starting!"

Well, it looks like our heroes have finally saved the prince! But now what? Can the dwarves help them? Can they stop the earth from rotting out? What happened to Fighter? And why is summer so hot? Anyway, most of these questions shall be answered, so click that review button!


	11. Melmond, the city where everything dies

Aw, one review again? I'm lucky I have 17 reviews. Anyway, Mimic12355, you came back! I will keep up the work, so as usual, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit!

Everything had been so peaceful. Everything was in perfect order. But that was before Sabin taught Fighter the Bum Rush, the most destructive blitz known to man. Now everything was in chaos. Vases had been smashed, windows be broken, and people were bowled over.

"I thought you said he'd be sleeping like a baby after this!" Black Belt cried, waving his arms in critical motions. All he and Sabin could do now was watch the incredible destruction as Fighter redid the Bum Rush over and over.

"That guy isn't human!" Sabin exclaimed nervously, "Most people fall down and cry for their mommies when they see the Bum Rush. He just does it in spades! He's out of control!" Black Belt counted the hundreds of Fighters he saw as Fighter spun around everything so quickly that he created the illusion that there were millions of him. Suddenly, a man in armor clad rushed out of a room.

"Thou art so oblivious! That armor-bearing lad hath killed Terra!" he said quickly, and soon tens of voices screaming in unison followed it, along with the sound of falling plaster. Fighter just Bum Rushed the building, causing it to crumble.

"Uh, how powerful IS this new blitz, anyway?" Black Belt asked.

"It decimates most enemies with but one blow." Sabin replied, "In other, simpler words, we'd better get the hell out of here!" Sabin, Black Belt, and the proper-speaking armor guy quickly ran out as the remainder of the building blew up from yet another Bum Rush…

Meanwhile, our heroes were sailing the small of Aldi Sea towards a distant island with a mountain poking out of it. This time Red Mage was steering the ship as Thief casually held the map, glancing at it every few seconds.

"Boy, I'm sure glad those Elves gave us a map! We might've NEVER found Mt. Duegar so fast!" Thief exclaimed happily. Black Mage instantly had a sweat drop rolling down his head as he walked up to Thief and snatched the map out of his hand.

"You call this a map? Thief, this is just a picture of a castle and a mountain that says "Mt. Doogr" on top." Black Mage stated, annoyed, "It looks like a 5-year-old threw a hissy-fit with their crayons."

"And obviously the Elfland Prince can't spell too well either." White Mage added, pointing to the label on the top page. Thief inspected it, and nearly freaked out.

"RM, TURN BACK! We've been going the wrong way!" Thief screamed, making Red Mage jump, "We're not going to Mt. Duegar! We're going to Mt. Doogr!" Both Black and White Mage stared at Thief in disbelief. Black Mage rolled up the "map" and whacked it over Thief's head.

"Do you only hear every other word? The prince was an idiot and misspelled the name! We're going the exact way we're supposed to!" Black Mage yelled. He turned to Red Mage, and for once was actually nice to him! "Keep going, RM. You're doing the right thing… this time." Red Mage nodded and kept to his course. Of course, knowing he was doing good always makes his head swell, and he began to whistle, completely forgetting he was driving. Soon the ship, and our motley crew of heroes, smashed onto a beach.

"_RM, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?_" Black Mage asked angrily, spitting out sand as he lifted his head. Red Mage got up too, and shook his head, trying to get his hair sand-free.

"Sorry. The merry tunes from my soul distracted me." Red Mage replied, "I won't let it happen again." Black Mage scoffed and turned around to see what condition their boat was in. Thankfully it was still in one piece, although the anchor had smashed into a palm tree, but Black Mage could care less for that. Thief got up and looked around.

"Hey! We're here! This is it, guys! I'm almost sure of it!" Thief exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the big mountain in front of them.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Black Mage asked, examining the outside of the ship with little interest.

"Mt. Duegar! We're near Mt. Duegar!" Thief said again. Red Mage chuckled.

"Hold on. Just because we landed on an island with a mountain doesn't mean we landed on Mt. Duegar." Red Mage said, and to everyone's surprise, Black Mage agreed.

"For all we know, this could be some desolate island where Chaos himself resides." Black Mage added, making Thief shiver. White Mage, however, was undaunted by the thought.

"If Chaos was really here, this place wouldn't look quite as cozy. I think we should go in the cave and just see where we are." White Mage suggested, walking into said cave. The other three looked at each other, then decided it was best to follow. White Mage never steered them wrong before.

Inside the cave wasn't nearly as horrifying as Black Mage tried to make it seem. The tunnels were very large, it was surprisingly well-lit, and it didn't smell like brimstone or rotting bodies. Thief settled down when he heard men talking.

"Hey, what if there's like, a whole city here?" Thief asked, "What if the dwarves made an underground metropolis to rival Cornelia?"

"I'd be surprised if they did." White Mage said, "It would take years, maybe even centuries, to reach that kind of population."

"Yeah, especially since dwarves hate humans and almost never go to the outside world. Therefore getting the supplies needed would be an annoying task." Red Mage added, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Who cares what's down here?" Black Mage asked, "They have what we need to get to Melmond. As long as I can get this quest going, I don't care what the hell I run into." Black Mage waved his hand and stomped down the path, only to be blown back by a small explosion. He shivered and ran behind a crate. "What was that?"

"I thought you said you didn't care what you ran into." White Mage huffed, placing her hands ever so irritably on her hips. Black Mage cursed as she walked past to see what had set off the explosion. A tiny little man with a red beard hobbled by.

"Oh me, oh my! I hope I dinnae hurt ye good folk by me dynamite!" he said, as the four just stared at him, dumbstruck. Black Mage was the one to break the silence.

"Are you insane! What the hell are you people thinking, setting off dynamite here?" he yelled, making the dwarf jump. The dwarf turned around, dusting his soot-stained clothing off.

"We be digging a tunnel to Melmond, to see what we could do about the rotting o' the earth. But you see, we dinnae have any TNT, so our power sources are limited." The dwarf explained, "But if you have any from the Cornelia City, that'd help." Black Mage nearly screamed again.

"_ARE YOU TELLING ME WE HAVE TO DRIVE BACK THERE?_" Black Mage screamed, waving his arms up and down angrily. The dwarf quickly shook his head.

"Oh, no, no, no! We be having a rare Warp Scroll that can take ye to the town. If we give it to ye, will ye be willing to get me the TNT?" the dwarf asked. Before Black Mage could protest, Red Mage agreed to help, and neither Thief nor White Mage objected.

"Wait a second! If you guys have a scroll to get you back into Cornelia, why the hell haven't you used it yet?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. The dwarf coughed nervously.

"Ye see, we be no mages o' power, so the scroll won't work unless a mage uses it." The dwarf told them. If they didn't need his help, Black Mage was sure he'd kill off all of the dwarves. Thief leaned on a rock.

"So, who's gonna use the scroll?" he asked. Everyone looked at each other in thought. Black Mage thought back to if there was any reason for them to go back, when he remembered the idiot king and his guards. Black Mage grinned evilly.

"I'll go." He volunteered cheerfully, to everyone's surprise, "It's the best choice. I'm a Black Mage, so my magic will be more than enough to bring me there. All for the good of the team, after all, right?" This made everyone's eyes widen. White Mage even felt his forehead to make sure he wasn't sick.

"Well, if ye decided, it's best if we go outside. The scroll works best in open spaces, and it'll be quicker to the site of the blast." The dwarf said, leading everyone outside again. Black Mage took the scroll and chanted the spell on it, disappearing from view.

"Think he'll be able to find the TNT?" Thief asked, as the ocean waves crashed against the sandy shores.

"Who knows?" Red Mage replied, taking off his hat, "But he'll be fine. I know he'll find it. And then we can save the…?" The three suddenly looked very upset as the Cornelian Coastline was spreading ablaze. People everywhere were screaming miserably. Black Mage warped back right at that moment.

"BM, what happened?" White Mage asked, too shocked to realize what Black Mage just did. Black Mage smiled nervously.

"It was horrible, guys! Uh… Garland was burning the place on fire! I didn't stand a chance alone! I… couldn't save anyone…" Black Mage sobbed, hoping his act would work. And it did. White Mage patted him sympathetically on the back.

"It's okay. We'll just go back and deal with him." She said, walking to the boat until Black Mage stopped her.

"NO! I mean… By the time we'll get there, everything will be gone and Garland will have gotten away. I think we need to get to the Earth Cave first." Black Mage lied, making Red Mage very suspicious.

"Why would we go there if he's causing trouble in Cornelia?" he asked. Black Mage was getting very frustrated by this time and smacked Red Mage.

"_JUST DO WHAT I SAID!_ I mean, he said he was going to get the Earth Crystal and turn the place into Zombie central. Yeah, that's it!" Black Mage said. Thief shrugged.

"Well, we can't just sit and let that happen! Okay, Dwarf! Blow up the canyon and get us to Melmond!" Thief exclaimed. Black Mage snickered and handed the dwarf the TNT, and he hobbled to a small switch and set down the box.

"Everybody stand back! It be a big one!" he yelled, pushing a button. The earth shook as explosions erupted all around the island! When the dust cleared, the mountain was now in two. The dwarf had successfully blasted a canal through the mountain.

"Alright! Let's hit the road!" Thief said, jumping into the boat. Red and White Mage bid farewell to the dwarf, and they too got on as Black Mage lounged around on the deck.

"Aye, be careful! I hear there be problems in Melmond!" the dwarf called as the ship sailed through the canal.

The ride to Melmond was quiet and peaceful. Hardly anything had attacked them, and some pirates were nice enough to give directions to the next port. The only one who had a problem was Black Mage. He'd be chosen to be pilot this time, and he barely had any idea as to what he was doing.

"Okay, throw this and…" Black Mage pulled a lever and the ship sped up to an insane speed, throwing everyone nearly over the edge. Black Mage screamed and threw the lever back, controlling the ship's speed. Everything settled down quickly.

"BM, do you even know where you're going?" White Mage asked once she had gotten up from the sudden burst of speed.

"Yeah, yeah, go left until you see the tip of land then go up about 3 miles. I get it." Black Mage mumbled, steering with a sense of boredom. Thief rolled up the small map from Elfland and used it as a periscope.

"Hey! I see it!" he shouted happily, pointing to the indicated dock. Black Mage grinned and made a sharp turn to get the spot before a neighboring merchant ship did.

"HA! In your face!" Black Mage taunted as the ship turned sadly to leave. White Mage sighed with disapproval as she stepped off the ship onto the dusty ground that was supposed to be the port. As they walked down the small dirt pathway, dust was kicked up everywhere, even from the tiniest step.

"Man, what's with this place?" Black Mage coughed, shielding his nose from the dusty onslaught.

"Well, the dwarves and the elves said this is where the first fiend, and the first crystal are. And we all know the fiends are draining the power of the crystals. Henceforth, the crystal here must be the earth crystal. Why else would there be no vegetation?" Red Mage explained, and he did have a point. There were no trees or flowers anywhere. Just vast, dead deserts as far as they all could see.

"Wait, this could just be a desert continent. How do we know for sure that the crystal is here?" Thief asked, stating another good point.

"Because deserts don't have rotting trees in them." White Mage replied, "The dwarf said Melmond had problems. I just hope the town is in better shape than this." The four continued down the path towards the small city. To everyone's dismay, it looked even worse than the port. Graveyards and tombstones littered everyone's' lawns, there were no trees, and the houses looked as though they were ready to collapse.

"Wow, this is even worse than we imagined…" Red Mage whispered.

"Could the fiend of earth really cause all of this?" White Mage asked.

"No…" came a sad voice, "It wasn't Lich, fiend of earth. It was a dreadful vampire. He came and rotted our earth dry as punishment for no offerings to resurrect Chaos. We've had almost no food." The four turned around in surprise to come face-to-face with a doctor.

"And who are you?" Black Mage asked skeptically.

"Forgive me. I am Dr. Unne, scholar of ancient languages." The man introduced himself, "I meant to study the habits of dwarves but somehow ended here, to this rotting abyss of a town."

"We have to stop this! Even if it isn't Lich, we can't let this go!" Thief cried, tears running down his face, "No one deserves to go hungry because of an idiotic grudge of evil."

"Thief… I know how you feel, but we don't even know where to go from here." White Mage told him sadly. Red Mage looked down in shame. Even Black Mage was upset from the sight he saw.

"I do not know why you intend to stop the vampire, but if you must… He is deep in the Earth Cave, or Terra Cavern as the dwarves call it. He sits there, waiting for his offering, waiting for us to surrender to him." Dr. Unne explained.

"Well, he'll get an "offer" all right…" Black Mage muttered, "Not even I can take such a horrible sight. Even if it goes against all I stand for, I'm going to kill it and restore this town!" The other three looked at Black Mage in surprise.

"B-BM?" they all asked in unison, shocked by Black Mage's sudden determination for good will.

"Thank you, and be careful. The cavern is full of horrifying creatures." Dr. Unne said as the four began to leave the town for the cave. Black Mage huffed.

"Horrifying or stupid, it doesn't matter. We'll stop the vampire and save the town…"

Wow, a new attitude on BM's part! So, our heroes are well on their way to a new Crystal and another quest for the world! Can they stop the vampire from draining the earth to dust? Is Lich the one who sent him? And did Fighter Bum Rush their hometown, leaving nothing but ruin and angst? Find out in the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	12. Why's there a party in the Earth Cave?

All right! More craziness for you! But first I have to clear some mail up… (opens mailbag) Alls, they got the Mystic Key when they woke the prince in Elfland up, I just forgot to write that in. Sorry about that. Chad, I think everyone who read this was surprised by BM's reaction to Melmond. Jason, I fell off my chair a few times writing that stuff. That's why I refused to not put it in! Jenni, is BM really helping the town? Or is it just an excuse to kill stuff? Anyway, I don't own FF or 8-bit!

---

Smoke billowed from what used to be a cheerful little town. But now all that was left were piles of rubble, and three guys watching it all. Well, two, actually. Fighter had passed out from over-Bum Rushing everything, and the armor guy was crushed from a falling tower.

"So, I'm guessing we just got deported." Black Belt said, a sweat drop rolling down his head as he looked at the destruction.

"Well, there's nothing to deport you from anymore." Sabin replied, "Your friend here smashed the Deportment Office, and basically everything else, so you won't suffer any punishment. And my leader said that it'd only be worse if we sent your friend to another town, because he might Bum Rush that one too."

"Wait a second. Your leader? Who are… or… were you guys? Some kind of secret organization bent on good will and peace?" Black Belt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How did you know!" Sabin exclaimed happily, "Actually, we're more of a cult based on peace than an organization, but you get the idea."

"…Whatever. So, did your leader say what you should do with us?" Black Belt asked.

"Yeah, he said if you both could help me rebuild the town, he'll let you stay here for free." Sabin replied. Black Belt looked at Fighter for a minute.

"Well… Fighter's pretty much dead right now, so… think we can use him as a temporary beam for a house?" Black Belt asked. Sabin shrugged and picked Fighter up.

"Hey, it saves us time from building a beam, so I say do it!" he exclaimed, and sat Fighter upright against a rock.

---

Meanwhile, our heroes were tramping down a dusty, lifeless path towards the south, to the Earth Cave. No monsters could be seen except for a few wraiths, which Black Mage immediately killed with Fire2. Little did he know they walked up to them to sell them some supplies.

"I know the Melmond Forest is supposed to be quiet, but this is unreal." Thief whispered, tiptoeing across the ground. And it was true. There was no running water, and the wind didn't make a sound as it rolled across the dead land.

"You call this a forest? It's nothing but a patch of dry dirt!" Black Mage spat, kicking a rock up, "Dry dirt and potential fire hazards that used to be trees."

"Even if we defeat the vampire, do you think the land will begin to grow back when we do?" White Mage asked, as they continued on, "Do you really think one vampire could've caused this? Especially knowing that the fiend of Earth isn't too far away from him?"

"Only way to know for sure is to kick that vampire's sorry ass." Black Mage grumbled.

"About that. How exactly do you intend to fight it?" Red Mage asked, "I've heard legends that vampires aren't weak to any specific kind of magic except those of the Harm series and of fire. And our physical strength won't kill it, either."

"I see your point, but I have PLENTY of Fire2 spells. I ain't afraid." Black Mage replied confidently, strolling to the south until Thief stopped him, "What now, moron?"

"Don't you see the fork in the road? Which way are we supposed to go?" Thief asked. Black Mage stopped walking and looked around. They'd been talking so much that they'd come to a crossroad. One way went west, the other went southeast.

"Well, the west has a closer cave. I'll just pretend we need to go there." Black Mage said, and began walking down the west path. A sweat drop appeared over White Mage.

"Are you insane? What if there are boars or wolves in that cave?" White Mage called, but Black Mage ignored her, "Are you listening! Dr. Unne said to go SOUTH! BM! Get back here! _UGH! YOU ARE SO HOPELESS!_" She huffed and stormed off after Black Mage. Red Mage and Thief just looked at each other and gulped, then followed White Mage inside. But they barely got inside in the first place. The cave was very small, and very crowded with rocks.

"This is the Earth Cave, huh?" White Mage asked, annoyed that Black Mage got them lost again.

"Shut up. There's enough crap here to convince ME it's the Earth Cave." Black Mage stated. Thief covered his nose.

"Speaking of crap, what's that awful smell?" Thief asked, "Smells like 100 Mad Ponies came and took a dump in here all at the same time!" Even Red Mage covered his face with his hat from the horrible smell. But as they walked deeper to find the source of the stench, they saw a huge titan blocking their way.

"What are puny humans doing in my cave?" it roared, making the ground rumble with every word. Black Mage pushed Red Mage to the front.

"Um… We were wondering if this was the Earth Cave." Red Mage replied.

"Earth Cave? Me no hear of Earth Cave. What puny man talk about?" The titan grumbled, stroking its rock-hard chin in thought, "This my cave of treasure. But I no let you in without a ruby."

"Fine. Why would we want your stupid treasure anyway?" Black Mage asked.

"I have Treasure of the gods. They powerful weapons to kill bad men. But me no like you, so you don't get treasure." The titan replied, making Black Mage chuckle.

"Listen, _slave_, do you really want to cross us? We're the Light Warriors. We haven't the time or patience to deal with your inferior intellect. Now step aside." Black Mage said.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing? He could flatten us!" White Mage hissed, but Black Mage ignored her.

"Me no understand PUNY man. Me confused." The titan whined, "Me no like being confused!" He started to stomp around like a little kid.

"Hmmm. Let me put it into words even YOU understand. You stupid, me smart. You dumb, me strong. You loser, me winner." Black Mage boasted. The titan roared and pounded on his chest.

"_YOU INSULT ME! ME MAD! ME SQUASH PUNY HUMANS! ROAR!_" The titan roared, picking up his club. The four quickly ran out before the titan's club smashed down on them. When they got out, White Mage immediately smacked Black Mage with her staff.

"Are you mentally retarded? That was a TITAN! He's at least 100 times our size! Don't you know any better?" she screamed. Black Mage rubbed his head angrily as he glared up at her.

"Is it MY fault those lesser _mammoths_ are so damn retarded?" Black Mage asked, "No! Therefore, why should I get blamed for that _thing_ trying to kill us for merely pointing out a straight fact?" A blue streak appeared across White Mage's head, and she was sure her veins would pop right there.

"Um, I thought _you_ were the one who insulted the Titan." Thief said, tilting his head with confusion, "I mean, if you did insult the Titan, I'm really not surprised that it tried to hit us. I don't blame the poor thing." Red Mage opened up a small book he kept in his pack.

"Besides, ever since the Banned Giant Act in '47, all forms of giants have been more hostile. We should've been more careful." Red Mage said, "If we hadn't run, that Titan could've smeared us all over the walls." Black Mage tapped his foot impatiently.

"Technicalities set aside, I still think I was right. Anyway, I guess it wasn't so bad to run. Besides, we still need to get to the Earth Cave. That horse-crap scented cave can wait." Black Mage said, walking down a dirt path, only to stop immediately in front of another cave with a sign reading "EARTH CAVE!"

"Wow, that's really anticlimactic." Black Mage said flatly, a large sweat drop rolling down his head.

"At least it makes our jobs a little easier." White Mage responded, shrugging and walking into the cave with Thief and Red Mage. Black Mage cursed and wandered in too. Inside was very dark, and it took a few minutes for everyone to adjust to the light. When they could see, they saw that the earth actually looked like it was in good condition.

"Yeah, this has got to be the Earth Cave." Red Mage said. Black Mage laughed harshly.

"Gee, really! Tell me, what gave it away? Was it the huge amount of EARTH in here or the sign outside TELLING us this is the Earth Cave?" Black Mage spat, throwing his arms up in frustration. White Mage leaned on her staff.

"Well, think about it. The earth here looks in great condition as compared to Melmond." She said, raising her eyebrow, "And if you can't remember, you're the one who said you'd give the vampire a thorough butt-kicking."

"And I still intend to! God, you people get on my nerves!" Black Mage cried, walking towards a left path. Red Mage looked at the map and screamed like a schoolgirl, tackling Black Mage down. Black Mage glared angrily, "What was that for?"

"BM, that's the Hall of Giants! You'll be flattened!" Red Mage shrieked. Black Mage, however, wasn't too convinced.

"I think if there were Giants down here, we'd see them. Now let go of me or I'll use Fire2 on you." Black Mage threatened. Red Mage let go of his robes, and Black Mage proudly strolled into the hall, only to be smashed by a giant wooden club a second later.

"No giants down here, huh?" White Mage asked mockingly. Black Mage tried to get up, but fell back down again.

"I think they broke my spine…" He whined.

After a long trek through the halls, no help from the fact that everyone had to carry Black Mage, our heroes finally got to the second floor.

"Hey, do you guys hear that odd bumping sound?" Thief asked, as they walked deeper through the cave.

"I thought it was the bumps on BM's head throbbing." Red Mage admitted, "Though as we go deeper, it IS getting obnoxiously louder." Red Mage opened a door to a room as they passed, and nearly passed out. A bunch of Bulls, Trolls, and Giants were DANCING! Black Mage woke up from the loud music, and screamed.

"What the hell are you guys doing!" he bellowed, making everyone stop and look at him.

"Well, the Vampire who lives here was throwing a huge party, so we were just dancing and mingling. Did you guys want to join us?" A gargoyle asked, holding up a bowl of chips. White and Red Mage just looked at each other. Thief shrugged and walked in, stuffing a handful of chips in his mouth.

"Thief, get back here!" Black Mage yelled, "And no, we DON'T want to join you! We're the Light Warriors! You guys should be busy fighting us to the _death_, and yet we find you _dancing and having fun!_" The monsters just raised their eyebrows confusingly as Black Mage began to list reasons of why what he just saw was so wrong.

"Listen, if you guys don't like the party, you can tell the Vampire about it and he'll fix it." A Troll told them. Black Mage was about to say something, but White Mage quickly covered his mouth.

"And where is the Vampire?" Red Mage asked.

"Oh, he's on the third floor. You'll know you're close when you see some disco lights flashing through the floor." A giant replied. The four smiled nervously and bolted away from the room as fast as they could go. Soon, they heard even louder music, and the floors began to light up like the Giant said they would.

"This is weird. Are you guys SURE the Vampire is causing the earth to rot? It just seems like he's throwing a party." Thief stated, as they all walked down the stairs. Glitter machines and disco lights dotted the hall of the third floor, and the sounds of jazz music could be heard as the four walked closer to a very intricately designed door. Red Mage knocked on it a few times, but it didn't open.

"You are such a freaking idiot." Black Mage said, and blew the door down with a Fire2 spell, "_FREEZE, FOOLS!_" The Vampire turned around and screamed.

"Heavens! You four scared me! I thought all of the guests were upstairs, partying!" the Vampire said, his fake jewelry gleaming. Sweat drops appeared over everyone's heads.

"Um… We're not guests. Are you the one terrorizing Melmond?" White Mage asked. The vampire looked slightly confused, then snapped his fingers.

"Oh, THAT! Well, I was about 50 years ago, but I guess I've forgotten!" he exclaimed, "I thought I took that spell off the earth."

"Well, you didn't. And now we're going to kick your sorry butt because of it." Black Mage replied, starting up another Fire2 spell. Red Mage and Thief drew their swords, and White Mage began to cast Harm2. The Vampire laughed.

"Oh no you won't! Prepare to be DAZZLED by my beautiful smile!" The Vampire said, flashing the four a wicked smile. However, soon the Vampire would realize what a stupid mistake he'd made.

"EW! Your teeth are rotting!" White Mage screamed.

"And your breath smells bad!" Thief added.

"And your voice sounds funny. We're not dazzled." Red Mage ended, blinking.

"Not dazzled? How can this be? I'm simply DAZZLING! That's my nature!" The Vampire panicked, pacing back and forth.

"Uh, dude, just look in a mirror." Black Mage said, annoying pointing to the mirror behind the Vampire's chair. The Vampire quickly rushed to the mirror to see his reflection, and screamed bloody death.

"_HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE?_ Not only am I _ugly_, I'm _non-existent!_" The Vampire cried, not realizing that vampires didn't have a reflection, "This is unreal! I can't be this way! I simply MUST be beautiful!"

"Time to face the cold, hard facts. You're hideous. It's a curse, my friend, but we all must deal with it at some point." Black Mage said with fake pity. The Vampire screamed.

"NO! I… I can't take it! I'm… I'm…" The Vampire never finished his sentence, because at that moment, his brain exploded from mental and emotional overload, leaving a headless, lifeless body, which fell behind the chair.

"Well, that was easy." Black Mage shrugged, and opened the chest in the room, "What? This isn't a crystal! It's just a stupid red jewel! What the hell are we gonna do with this?" Black Mage angrily threw the ruby at the wall, and Thief caught it.

"Hey! The titan back in Crap Cave said he liked rubies. Maybe we're supposed to give this to him and HE gives us the crystal of Earth!" Thief exclaimed hopefully.

"And maybe you're a moron. Like a big buffoon like that has a crystal." Black Mage mumbled, "Oh, whatever. Let's just get out of this stupid cave before I set it on fire like Elf… er… I mean, before the rot of the earth collapses it." With that, the four left the disco-themed room.

"But still, where is the Earth Crystal?"

---

Well, at least they slayed the Vampire! But where's the Earth Crystal? Where's Lich? And why do they have to go back to Crap Cave? Why did I name it Crap Cave, anyway? And what about Sabin and BB? Anyway, find out the answer to most of these questions in the next chapter. So what are you waiting for! Click that Review button!


	13. Strange weapons and even stranger allies

Okay, another chapter for everyone! But first… (opens mailbag) Shin, you're very welcome! Chapter 12 was a chapter for everyone to remember! Jenni, I NEVER INTENDED SUCH AN IMAGE! EW! Anyway, yes, they are incredibly lucky! So, I don't own FF games or 8-bit!

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"Well, looks like we did a good job on the town!" Fighter said happily. He'd woken up as Sabin and Black Belt were making the bases of all the houses, and they finished the one he was supporting first.

"I know! I guess training in the cold, rugged mountains for 7 years was worth it!" Sabin exclaimed, kissing his arm muscles. Black Belt was sipping a soda.

"I feel we should go and celebrate! After all, we did rebuild a town in less than a day!" BB said, "I wonder why that is, anyway…" Sabin sighed proudly.

"That is the true power of the Bum Rush! Many people think its only use is to slam something around in a quick circular motion, but nay, it's to help the good of manual labor!" Sabin explained proudly, as the American flag appeared behind him. Fighter beamed.

"I feel like we all really bonded from this! Let's have a big group hug!" Fighter exclaimed as he stepped off where he was set. Black Belt and Sabin looked at him wide-eyed.

"_FIGHTER, NO!_" they both screamed in unison. But they were too late… The building Fighter supported collapsed, and the force of it caused the building around it to collapse, and so on and so fourth until absolutely nothing was left… again.

"Crap. Bannon is going to be pissed when he sees this…" Sabin shook his head with shame.

"We can rebuild it, right?" Fighter said, and picked up a loose board. He set it gently against a rock and put some more bricks on it. "See? Good as new!" Sadly, the horrible excuse for a house just didn't make it…

"We're doomed…" Both Sabin and BB sighed.

---

As for our heroes, they had just come out of the Earth Cave. However, the condition of the land hadn't improved. In fact, it seemed to be worse. Black Belt looked around, and then shrieked.

"CRAP! I knew we forgot something!" he yelled. White Mage turned around and looked at him.

"What did we forget, BM?" she asked calmly. Black Mage tugged on his robes.

"We forgot to ask the Vampire to get rid of the spell he'd put on 50 years ago! The earth is still dying!" Black Mage exclaimed worriedly. Red Mage looked down and took the small ruby out of his pocket.

"Unfortunately, there's not much we can do now." He said, "We killed the Vampire, and we still don't know where Lich is."

"What about the other door in the Vampire's room? Where did that lead to?" White Mage asked. Thief stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Nowhere. I checked and the door's locked. Either way, we're basically screwed." Thief replied. Red Mage threw the ruby in the air.

"Hold it. We still have this ruby. Maybe the Titan back in that death trap of a cave really does know something." Red Mage said, "At the very least, we could get his weapons of the gods or whatever he called them." Black Mage smiled.

"They must be pretty damn powerful if he won't let anyone near them." Black Mage concluded, "Oh, I bet they have awesome side effects like instant death or something! Maybe a random Flare spell here or there…" Needless to say, Black Mage was getting giddy with excitement. White Mage chuckled.

"Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" she asked, "We don't even know if the Titan will give us those weapons, and you're already fantasizing about them. But I do agree… he might give us something for that ruby…" After that, the walk to the Crap Cave was a silent one. Not surprising, since no one really wanted to go in there. Memories of Black Mage's insults flashed through everyone's minds as they neared the cave.

"So, who goes in first?" Thief whispered. Black Mage immediately pushed Red Mage into the cave and coughed.

"I think RM should go first." He said. Thief nodded, although unlike Black Mage, who wanted to see Red Mage get squished first, Thief felt Red Mage's slick talking skills would help. Red Mage shrugged.

"All right. I'll attempt to talk to the Titan and see what he can tell us." Red Mage said, and strolled inside the Crap Cave. Black Mage snickered as White Mage began to pace and Thief leaned against a large boulder to await Red Mage. After a few minutes, though, everyone was getting restless.

"Where the hell is he?" Black Mage asked, "It shouldn't take THIS long to talk to that overgrown rock!" Thief looked down sadly.

"What if the Titan smashed him with the club?" he asked, although he hated the thought of the idea. White Mage closed her eyes in an attempt to banish the thought. Black Mage, however, provided no comfort.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do if he did. And chances are he's never coming out. Let's get going. The world ain't gonna save itself." Black Mage said, about to walk away. But he came to a halt when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, guys. The Titan says he'll tell us where we have to go for the ruby." Red Mage said, poking his head outside the cave. Black Mage turned around stiffly.

"It took you long enough! What were you doing in there, moron?" Black Mage hissed. Red Mage scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, after I told him about the ruby we have, we got into this conversation about why the Titans grew to like rubies, and what kind of things they liked." Red Mage answered happily, "You wouldn't BELIEVE the kind of culture they had!" Black Mage's eyes narrowed.

"Who freakin' _cares_ what their culture was? Where's the ruby?" Black Mage asked, a slight vein-throb in his head.

"Oh, he's in there, munching on it." Red Mage replied, and walked back into the cave. The other three followed him in, and saw that the Titan has earlier been trying to harvest more gems. Rocks everywhere were smashed, and there were countless broken pick-axes too. Among them all laid the Titan, happily munching on the precious ruby. Black Mage marched up to the lazy-looking Titan.

"Okay, you have your stinking ruby. Now, where do we have to go?" Black Mage asked. The Titan let out a huge belch before sitting up. He lazily yawned and stretched out.

"Me knows where, but me no tell you! Me no like you. You big jerk." The Titan grumbled, his gravelly voice making the small cave shake.

"And what do you expect me to do? Get on my knees and _beg_?" Black Mage asked. The Titan shook his head.

"Me no like begging. It annoying. Me prefer to smash you with club." The Titan replied, showing a big wooden club and smiling. A sweat drop rolled down Black Mage's head, and he turned to look at Red Mage.

"RM, get up here and try to reason with this buffoon." He commanded. Red Mage walked up to the Titan, who was now busy eating a big rock. He looked away from the rock and down at Red Mage and waved.

"Hi, funny man! You need anything from Krogg?" the Titan asked.

"Whoa, back up. That _thing_ has a name?" Black Mage asked. The Titan glared at him.

"Krogg isn't thing! Krogg is big giant with feelings!" Krogg said.

"…Anyway, we need to know how to find Lich. He's not in the Earth Cave. Do you know what we can do?" Red Mage asked. Krogg smiled.

"There old man after my cave. He know everything! He help you beat Lich!" Krogg replied, "Since you give my ruby, I let you pass." Krogg got up and moved out of the way for the four warriors, who ran quickly by. He turned back to Black Mage.

"If PUNY human make fun of Krogg again, Krogg smash you with club! Krogg turn you into blackberry pancake for breakfast!" Krogg promised. Black Mage nodded and gulped as the other three were walking back out into daylight. Black Mage soon joined them and looked disapprovingly at the straightforward path.

"Wow, and here I was hoping we'd get lost again." Black Mage said sarcastically.

"I think you should be thankful that Krogg didn't smash you with his club." White Mage stated, walking away from Black Mage with her nose in the air.

"Yeah, you were kind of mean to the guy." Thief added.

"_Mean?_ He's a TITAN! They don't have the brains to understand an insult!" Black Mage cried, throwing his hands up into the air. Red Mage snickered as he passed.

"If they don't have brains, why did he smash you right after you called him stupid? Coincidence?" Red Mage asked mockingly.

"You… shut up. If YOU had a brain, you wouldn't need to ask me that question." Black Mage said simply. He quickly marched forward as Red Mage continued to snicker. Black Mage closed his eyes to drown out the image of Red Mage, but because he couldn't see where he was going, he slammed right into a sign.

"OW! What the hell?" Black Mage opened his eyes sharply, glaring at the sign, "Who would put a big sign out here?" White Mage and Thief ran over as Red Mage laughed even harder. Thief examined the sign as White Mage used her Cure spell.

"Sarda's Cave. No solicitors…. Think this is the guy the Titan was talking about?" Thief asked, as Black Mage rubbed his nose.

"Who the hell would name a kid "Sarda?" With a name like that, no one has GOT to take him seriously! No wonder he lives in a smelly cave guarded by an over-sized meat head." Black Mage said, sighing with false pity.

"I just hope Sarda can help us. Knowing BM, he might kill the poor old sage…" White Mage whispered, hoping Black Mage hadn't heard. Unfortunately, he had.

"Eh, the old fool should take some comfort knowing that his death will be quick. Besides, the experience we get from his demise will be devastating!" Black Mage boomed. Red Mage snapped his head around when he heard this.

"We'll get EXPERIENCE for killing him?" Red Mage asked quickly. Black Mage nodded, suddenly getting an evil idea.

"Yes. He's an old wizard, obviously powerful if the Titan says he knows where to find Lich. If we kill him, we're BOUND to level up!" Black Mage lied.

"But I don't know… Can I live with myself knowing I'd murder an old man?" Red Mage asked himself, suddenly going into deep, philosophical questions like "Do I actually exist?" and "What IS experience?" After about ten minutes of philosophical thinking, Black Mage began to get very annoyed.

"_DO YOU WANT THE EXP. OR NOT?_" Black Mage snapped. Red Mage nodded quickly. Black Mage strode ahead, "Good, then let's go see this "sage" and see if I have to kill him… I mean… if he can help us find Lich." The other three followed without saying a word. Once they got into the small cave, it was clear someone was living there. A nice table was sitting in the middle of the room, with a small chair, and away from that was a doorway leading into a bedroom.

"Maybe he's out?" Thief suggested as Black Mage walked into the bedroom.

"I doubt it. If he left, the Titan would've said so. Let's look around first." Black Mage said. He looked in the small closet, while Thief looked under the bed. Red and White Mage were looking behind bookcases and tall plants, but the gang had no luck.

"Where is he?" White Mage wondered, when they still hadn't found him after minutes of searching.

"Hmm, he is a sage… He might be disguising himself as some sort of weird… object thing. Quickly, let's look for anything out of place!" Red Mage exclaimed. Once again, the four scrambled around the small dwelling. Well, three, actually. Black Mage simply decided to blow up the bed. Everyone looked quickly when a tiny old man screamed and hobbled out of the bed.

"Oh my! So it seems you've found me out!" came the old man's croaky voice.

"Why were you hiding in your bed?" Thief asked. The old man gave a chuckle.

"I wasn't hiding, my boy! I WAS the bed! It's an advanced form of magic." The old man replied, "It is to the equivalent of Time or Space magic that you young ones have come up with… certainly not elements I would've chosen to play with…" Black Mage blinked a few times, trying to process what the man said.

"Okay, if it's so advanced, why did you choose to morph into a bed? Why not morph into a murderous beast and kill us?" Black Mage asked, although in reality he was referring to what he'd do. White Mage caught that pretty quickly.

"This man isn't you, BM." She teased, "But speaking of this man… Sir, we're looking for the sage, Sarda. The Titan told us he lives here." The old man gave her an odd look, and then laughed good-naturedly.

"Dear child, I AM Sarda!" he boomed, chuckling with amusement. Black Mage's eyes widened with shock.

"This wheezy, dried-up, old man is SARDA?" Black Mage blurted out.

"In the flesh, my young mage!" Sarda said cheerfully, "Well, if Krogg let you through, is must be important that you talk to me. What can I do for such promising warriors?" Red Mage was the one who spoke this time. He took off his hat respectfully.

"Sir, as you know, the earth around Melmond has been rotting for years now." Red Mage started. Sarda stroked his pearl-white beard with interest.

"Ah yes. Most people think that the Vampire alone is involved…" Sarda commented.

"But we have slain the Vampire. The problem is that we can't go deeper into the cave to find Lich, and we know he's ultimately responsible for the rot." Red Mage explained.

"Yeah, because a stupid locked plate thing is blocking the path." Thief added.

"Ah, I see Lich has not lightened his security for the Light Warriors… Yes, you need something to break the plate. The Earth Rod is the key to getting into Lich's domain, far beneath the Earth itself." Sarda told them. White Mage looked impatient.

"But where do we find the Earth rod?" she asked. Sarda chuckled again.

"I have the Earth Rod right here. You may have it for your journey." Sarda said, and handed Red Mage a heavily worn, but still serviceable rod, "I do not expect it back."

"So, we just show this rod to the plate and it'll shatter?" Thief asked.

"No, you must strike the plate with the rod for it to take any effect whatsoever. Beware going down there, though. With the Vampire gone, Lich is sure to notice that you four are after him. I'm sure he'll send more powerful minions to stop you." Sarda warned. Black Mage laughed, but was able to pass it off as a cough as White Mage glared at him.

"Yeah, but they'll be too busy with their disco party…" Black Mage mumbled. Sarda turned around to look at him cheerfully.

"What was that, my boy?" he asked. Black Mage smiled nervously.

"I said… uh… We'll be off!" Black Mage covered quickly. The four bade farewell to the old sage, and now were walking back into the Crap Cave.

"Let's hope this rod still has its old power…"

---

And so, our heroes are but a step closer to finding and defeating the first of four fiends! Will the Earth Rod work? Are they strong enough to survive whatever Lich throws at them? Can they recover the Earth crystal and relight the orb in their possession? And what happened to the town Fighter was rebuilding? Find out most of the answers to this questions in the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	14. Meet Lich, a not so fiendish fiend!

Holy, so many reviews! This makes me happy! (opens mailbag) N2000, I guess now it IS a remake, since everyone thinks it is. Oops. Fuuraiken, BM can't do that or else there's nothing in it for him anymore! Jenni, yes, the party in Earth Cave is still going on. Meira, thank you for all the reviews! Now, I don't own any FF or 8-bit!

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Trying as hard as they could to rebuild the small town, Fighter, Black Belt, and Sabin were busy collecting their materials.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. All we have left are some broken boards, some twigs, leaves, and string?" Black Belt asked. Sabin nodded.

"And we're gonna build a huge, bustling city?" Fighter added. Sabin just smiled and nodded again. The three men looked at each other, then at the piles of rubble that used to be houses.

"Bring it on!" they all said, and began to work as hard as they could. Sabin was mending the broken boards as Black Belt propped them up and built supports with the twigs. After the boards were mended, Sabin began to build rooftops as Black Belt continued to make walls and supports for new houses.

"Hey, Sabin?" Black Belt asked after an hour of silence from Fighter. Sabin turned around.

"What's up, dude?" he asked, wiping some sweat off his head.

"Where's Fighter? I haven't heard from him since we started, and that scares me." Black Belt said. Sabin pointed behind him to Fighter, who was busy getting tangled up with the string.

"Lay off, vile fiend!" he shrieked, trying to rip the string with his sword. But no matter how hard he tried, Fighter just made the situation worse. Black Belt and Sabin sighed as sweatdrops rolled down their heads.

"This is going to take a million years…" the two mumbled.

---

Meanwhile, about 1000 miles away, our heroes had left the Crap Cave and now were walking across the barren wasteland that was the Melmond continent. No one had really spoken much, nor had any battles ensued.

"So… do you think Lich is going to smear us on the walls?" Thief asked, as the silence stabbed at him like a knife. Red Mage sighed.

"I wouldn't underestimate him. He's the fiend of Earth, and if he can do _this_ to a _continent,_ think of what he'll do to _us_." Red Mage stated logically, "If the views of our surroundings are correct, Lich is much more powerful than the Vampire." Black Mage spat on the ground.

"I think _anyone_ is more powerful than that egomaniac." Black Mage grumbled.

"But didn't the Vampire say he was the one who put the spell down?" White Mage asked, "I mean, what if Lich can't really do anything? What if he's already dead?" Red Mage took out the four lifeless orbs.

"WM, if that's true, then who stole the crystals of power and caused the orbs to fade off in the first place? And besides, BM has a point. The Vampire was an idiot. I doubt he'd be able to pull such a stunt on his own. Someone else is behind it." Red Mage replied.

"Oh! Did you figure that out yourself? Well, DUH!" Black Mage scolded, throwing a rock at Red Mage, "Of COURSE someone else is behind it! We already established that from day 1, you nimrod! The question is, can we find this guy?" Thief twirled the old Earth Rod around, spraying the ground with more dust.

"Yeah, I mean, this rod looks a little old. How do we know it'll work? What if it snaps in half when we used it? Then we would've climbed down into the Earth Cave for no reason." Thief said. Black Mage gave a harsh little laugh.

"Well, it's not like it'll take too long to get there. Those minions Sardine-face was worried about are all too busy doing Roller Disco to care if we destroy their leader. I sure didn't see them try to even stop us when we killed off the Vampire." Black Mage stated, waving his arms dismissively. Thief stopped for a minute to think of what Black Mage just said.

"Hey, can we not say we killed the Vampire? The dude was already dead. And besides, he melted." Thief corrected. Black Mage felt his veins throb with rage, and would've loved nothing more than to burn Thief. But he had more sense than that. He turned around sharply.

"Shut up, you." Black Mage snapped. And for the rest of the journey back to the Earth Cave, no one said anything.

At long last, the group found the Earth Cave again. Not surprisingly, they also heard music, cheering, and talking going on too. The four stopped, wondering if it was a smart idea to go in as a beer bottle hit Black Mage square in the head.

"OW! Damn it, looks like they're still partying…" Black Mage mumbled, "Well, guess what? I'm sick of these retarded lesser beings not taking us seriously! I'm going in there!" With that, Black Mage stormed off. The other three looked at each other in disbelief, and then Thief ran to the entrance.

"BM, wait! The Giants! They live there too! They might…" Thief started, but before he could walk inside, let alone say another word, heat, smoke, and the smell of burnt monster skin filled the air. Black Mage stalked out of the cave, wearing a triumphant grin.

"It's safe to go through." He said darkly, "Oh, and I got the Giants too." Thief shrugged as the four slowly entered the now deserted halls of what looked like Party Central. Skulls, burnt spiders and snakes, and broken disco balls littered the floor, making it hard to navigate. Thief swore he fell over the same monster twice.

"BM, did you _have_ to kill everything?" White Mage asked, trying to feel her way around, "You could've left the disco lights so we could at least see where we're going." It was true. The only real reason they'd had such a comfy journey before was because they could see. Black Mage kicked angrily, accidentally hitting Red Mage.

"Well, what did _you_ want to do? Were you really going to let evil live?" Black Mage asked. White Mage narrowed her eyes.

"I let you live." She said flatly, continuing down the dim corridor. Thief tried to follow along, and tripped over a skull, landing into Red Mage, who in turn bumped into Black Mage. Black Mage got up and glared at the two, his eyes gleaming red with fury. Thief and Red Mage hugged each other in fear.

"I've had it with your antics. WM isn't here to stop me, and your burning carcasses will serve as a lamp, so…" Black Mage was about to cast Fire2 when Thief and Red Mage ran away like two scared girls, "I knew that would get those idiots moving…" Black Mage shrugged and continued down where White Mage had gone, trying hard not to trip over anything. To his dismay, he'd fallen over three dead trolls, a broken disco ball, an empty soda bottle, and an empty snake skin before falling clumsily down the stairs.

"OW! Why I ought to…" Black Mage got up and dusted his robes angrily until he spotted his three friends looking around for any sign of life. They could hear music, but there was no talking. Not even the crunch of a chip being eaten was heard.

"Think they're planning to ambush us?" Thief asked, taking a step forward.

"I don't know… we'll have to find out." Red Mage whispered, walking towards a closed room, "Everyone, get your weapons out." As he instructed, everyone drew out their swords, hammers, and staves as Red Mage opened the door slowly. When no one said anything, he burst it opened and jumped inside with his sword at the ready. But he lowered it when he saw that no one was even in the room, save for a lone stereo that was still pumping out music.

"Well, this is a little odd." White Mage stated, walking into the room, "Where is everyone? Black Mage, did you kill them all?" Black Mage just shrugged and strolled in, ignoring the bowl of chips he'd smashed.

"Looks like I did, but that's just less work for us." Black Mage replied, "Besides, we're here to kill Lich, not to join in some demonic ritual party." Just to further prove whatever point he was trying to make, Black Mage whacked at the last disco ball with his staff as though it were a pinata, smashing it to pieces. Then he walked back into the hall and down towards the stairs.

"Hey, he's got a point." Thief chirped as he and Red Mage walked into the hall as well, "Hey! BM, wait for us!" White Mage just sighed tiredly as a drop of sweat appeared over her.

"The only "point" he has is the one he calls his head…" White Mage mumbled as she walked off after Thief and Red Mage. Within a few minutes, she was climbing down the stairs to reveal that Thief was using the Earth Rod to pick the seal on the locked door. She was about to say something when the door swung open, leaving the four a perfect view of a big, ugly, metal plate.

"Now what?" Black Mage asked, annoyed, "The door was one thing, but that piece of crap Sardine gave us won't move a metal plate." Thief had to agree. The Earth Rod looked like it was going to shatter any moment. Even White Mage seemed a little less hopeful. Red Mage did the only thing that came to his mind. He grabbed the Earth Rod.

"Please, let this work. Rod, open the door and show us where Lich is!" Red Mage roared, and thrust the rod into the metal plate. To everyone's surprise, the plate shattered along with the rod, sending bits of metal and rust soaring through the air. Thief was hit in the head with a piece of metal as Black and White Mage ducked for cover. Red Mage stayed as the magic of the Earth Rod continued to dissolve whatever was left of the plate.

"Whoa… that's what I call magic." Black Mage gasped, coming out of a corner he'd been hiding in, "Maybe I underestimated that old fart after all…" White Mage helped Thief up, and Red Mage wiped some sweat off of his head.

"Well, this might be it. Lich must be down there. Let's go." Red Mage said, and the four warriors headed down the stairs underneath the plate. It grew steadily darker as the group reached the floor, and they could smell rotting debris everywhere. Black Mage grabbed a large stick and set fire on it to serve as a light. He waved it slowly so everyone could see where they were.

"Spooky…" Thief said, a hint of excitement in his voice, "Yup, if I were a rotting dead guy, I'd definitely hang out here." Black Mage laughed.

"If we've never been here, how do you know what he looks like?" Black Mage asked. Thief held up Red Mage's Brady Games guide.

"It says so, page 140. Lich is an undead creature. Look, it even has a picture." Thief handed the book to Black Mage. He gave White Mage the torch and took a look.

"Ugh… I see people are still making these adventure guides using 8-bit pictures…" Black Mage mumbled, "That is so back in Chaos's time. Don't they even think to try the new 32-bits coming out these days?" Red Mage looked at the horrible rendition of Lich.

"I admit it's ugly, but I'd rather deal with an 8-bit Lich than what we could possibly learn to know as our new graves." He stated, then began to walk down another hallway. Black Mage closed the guide, and followed with Thief and White Mage right behind. Soon, they'd made their way to the last floor. Thankfully there was some light coming from the lone room down the narrow corridor, as their torch had blown out from the cold. Thief walked cautiously to the door.

"Here it is… the crystal…" he whispered, "Soon we can revive it and light up our first orb…" He held out the darkened orb that signified Earth. Red Mage, however, didn't look as excited.

"Don't forget that Lich is still in there, and he's probably waiting for us." Red Mage told them all. He touched the doorknob and looked back at his comrades. Black Mage was tapping his foot impatiently, and White Mage was nodding to show him it was okay to go inside. Red Mage pulled hard on the door, and nearly fell over. The door swung open with ease, and in the middle of the room was the Crystal of Earth, shining dimly behind a faded circle. Black Mage stepped inside the room.

"Well, where's Lich?" he asked, looking around at wherever the Crystal illuminated the room. There were rocks and a few smaller crystals, but no fiend in sight.

"Maybe he DID die…" Thief concluded, unknowingly stepping into the small circle. Light burst out from the floor, making Thief jump back. Suddenly, smoke and a few dulled screams filled the room, making it hard for anyone to breathe. Red Mage was sure they were about to die when the smoke cleared just as quickly as it came. And there in the circle stood a large skeleton wrapped in a cape with long purple hair. His fire-covered eyes scanned the room.

"Okay, who dares wake me up from my nap?" he bellowed, making the room shake. Thief quietly raised his hand. Lich looked down and laughed, "A human? A human woke ME up? How hysterical!"

"Well, uh… it was an accident." Thief said slowly. Lich tilted his head.

"Really? Well, if that was it, please go. I've been waiting for about 500 years for the Light Warriors to get their butts in here, and I don't want to waste my magic burning innocent townsfolk." Lich explained, "Unless you've come to bring me a token of luck."

"It's nothing like that, you idiot!" Black Mage grumbled, "We ARE the Light Warriors! And we're gonna toast you for draining the Crystal of Earth!" Lich stepped back and took a better look at the four warriors.

"You four are the Light Warriors destined to save the world? But you're just mere children! I tell you, they make these prophecies start at younger and younger ages… They just don't predict heroes like they used to…" Lich said, as a trip down Memory Lane commenced, "Why, I remember when I had to do battle with… Oh, what was his name? Ah, Sir Gatabold! Now, that guy was ready to fall apart! Why, his beard was longer than HE was!" Black Mage narrowed his eyes.

"ARGH! We're not here to listen to your senile memories! We're here to roast you, toast you, smite you, and basically beat the living crap out of you! Just shut up already!" Black Mage yelled. Lich stepped back, clearly hurt.

"This is why I hate these new prophecies! These new heroes are just SO rude! They have no manners! At least back in the day, the heroes would offer some final words before slicing your head off! Now it's just "Shut up and let me kill you!" Lich ranted, pacing around the room. The four just looked at each other as Lich wailed on and on about back in his days. Black Mage finally reached his limit and blew part of the room up.

"Okay, if you won't play the part and at least pretend to want to kill us, I'll start this! Fire2!" Black Mage cried, and aimed a fireball at Lich. Because Lich wasn't even paying attention, his cape set fire. He ran around frantically, putting the flame out.

"Holy Chaos, you people are pushy!" he exclaimed, "I'm _trying_ to show some courtesy by not banishing you within the first ten minutes! But now you've crossed my line!" Lich grabbed a giant axe out of nowhere, "Prepare to die!" He charged angrily and attempted to slash White Mage, but Thief saved her in time as Red Mage deflected the blow with his sword. Black Mage tried another Fire2 spell as White Mage began a Harm2 spell. Lich vanished for a second, resulting in both spells causing damage to both mages. Lich reappeared behind Thief and tried to smack him with the axe, but Red Mage threw a rock and caught Lich by surprise.

"We've gotta run! He's too fast!" Thief yelled, and the four scrambled out of the room. They huddled up together under a small fire.

"Okay, to beat this guy, we need to know its weaknesses." Red Mage said, "What do we know about the undead?" Thief pulled out the Brady Games guide.

"Well, it says they can't handle fire or holy spells, but neither of those work." Thief said, reading quickly, "Swords don't do much… BM, do you have the Slow spell?" Black Mage raised his eyebrow.

"Of course not. Why waste my money on that piece of trash? It just takes up magic space." Black Mage replied. A thick streak of blue splashed across Thief's face.

"We're doomed." He said, "Unless there's another plan, we don't have anything we need." Red Mage grabbed the guide and flipped through it until he found the page with an old picture of Lich. Suddenly, he grinned as an idea formed in his head.

"No worries. I have a plan." Red Mage said, and ran back into the room. The others watched him in fear of a horrible scene of death. Lich cackled as he saw Red Mage approach again.

"Fool! Do you think you can beat me?" Lich roared.

"Actually, you don't look like the guy we're looking for. You're much scarier and not as small. Is this you?" Red Mage gave Lich the old 8-bit picture of himself. Lich took it and examined it.

"Of course it is me, idiot! Do you not see my purple hair?" Lich asked as his hair shimmered in the light. Black Mage choked back a laugh.

"Well, how do we _know_ it's you?" Red Mage asked. Lich sighed.

"I don't know… ask me something!" he suggested.

"Okay… how long has the curse been on Melmond?" Red Mage asked.

"About 50 years when I fired that Vampire." Lich replied.

"I see… How long have YOU been here?" Red Mage asked, looking intently.

"About 400 years, give or take a decade or two." Lich said tiredly.

"Wow. Okay, now what is Lich's ultimate attack?" Red Mage asked.

"Why, that would be my quake spell." Lich replied, casually. Red Mage grinned as he quickly scribbled something on the guide.

"WRONG!" Red Mage exclaimed happily, "It says your best attack is to explode! Now, is this true? If it isn't, you're a fraud!" Lich nearly shrieked.

"Me? A fraud? I don't think so! Of course I can explode!" Lich closed his eyes and focused very hard. In fact, he focused so hard that he exploded due to his brain overheating. Red Mage grinned even more as his friends ran in, amazed.

"RM, how did you know?" Thief asked, "I thought his best skill really was quake!"

"Well, his lowest stat is Intelligence. All I had to do was make him believe he had to explode, and poof! He did!" Red Mage explained. Black Mage shook his head in amazement.

"Maybe you aren't an idiot after all." He said, "Anyway, we have something important to do. Time to relight the orb." Red Mage took out the Earth Orb and put it in front of the Crystal. The Crystal glowed for a minute, and a gentle music was heard. It made the four feel very refreshed. After a while, the Crystal stopped reacting to the Orb, and the cave began to look much healthier.

"It worked! We saved the first Crystal!" Thief cried happily.

"Now to go and see if Melmond is okay." White Mage said. Black Mage nodded.

"Let's get a move on. After all of this, I'm pumped!"

---

Yay! Our heroes relit their first orb! Will Melmond be okay now? Can our heroes find the second orb? Who's guarding it now? And what about Fighter, BB, and Sabin? Anyway, all of these questions will be answered in the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	15. Onward and ever upward!

I am so happy! You all loved my Lich battle, eh? Well, there's a rumor about deletion upon responding to reviews, so I can't say much to anyone except thank you all. I loved my Lich Battle too. I'm sorry about not responding the normal way, but I don't want to be deleted. And if I am, please look me up, Sami-Otaku, on Mediaminer. Anyway, I don't own FF or 8-bit!

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After the struggle with the "vile fiend" Fighter had been mumbling about, Black Belt and Sabin had successfully gotten the red-haired warrior untangled. Now they were sitting inside a badly built fortress.

"I knew this was impossible…" Sabin mumbled, "What was I thinking, rebuilding this place?" Black Belt took a sip of soda.

"If you knew it was impossible, why didn't you tell us in the first place?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sabin gave a weak smile.

"I didn't want you two to feel like total morons." He replied, "But we can't do anything more. Fighter has either slashed or destroyed all our resources." Fighter dropped his sword when he heard this. He got up on a large rock.

"So we're just giving up?" Fighter asked, as the sun began to rise, "We're not even going to try?"

"Fighter, I hate to say it, but we _have_ tried." Black Belt stated, "There's nothing left!"

"Haha! That's what you think!" Fighter exclaimed, "Just look around! We have trees! If we put our spirit into it, we can rebuild this barren wasteland! As long as I'm named Fighter McBrown, I'll never give up! And you two shouldn't either!" Sabin stood up majestically.

"He has a point! My brother wouldn't have given up! He wouldn't have taken the easy way out! I say we go for it again!" Sabin cried happily, clenching a fist with might. Black Belt nodded, and the three gave a hi-five.

"TO ALL OF CHERRY TOWN!" they roared, and began to cut down a tree.

---

Meanwhile, the four heroes were walking back to Melmond. To everyone's relief and happiness, the ground began to sprout grass, and the trees began to bloom with leaves. The usual Imps and Wolves had come back to their homes, shouting and jumping with glee. A few of them even thanked the four!

"No, thank you! Without you guys, we wouldn't have a quest to go on!" Thief said, after a family of Imps had given them a basket of food. White Mage giggled a little, but Black Mage was annoyed.

"I hate to point this out, but those guys are _monsters_! They're supposed to kill us!" Black Mage exclaimed, "For all we know, that crap could be poison!" Thief took out a piece of pie from the basket and ate it.

"I sense no danger, BM." He said, through chomps of food.

"Yeah! That's my Grandma's secret pie! And she never used poison!" a young imp said, smiling. A large sweat drop rolled down Black Mage's head.

"I give up… Let's just go…" Black Mage said. Red Mage was already ahead of them, but White Mage started to follow. Thief brought up the rear while he ate a small sandwich. The closer they got to Melmond, the more the land seemed healthy.

"This is definitely an improvement!" White Mage cried happily, "So this is the power of the Earth Crystal… but that leaves me to wonder what the other crystals do when they're drained." Red Mage stopped suddenly, and turned around.

"That's a good question, WM. For all we know, we might not be able to get to the other crystals." Red Mage said, suddenly sounding very sad.

"Why do you figure that?" Thief asked.

"Well, the Earth Crystal made the earth rot. I'm guessing the crystals do something to their particular element. The Fire Crystal might've burned the area it's near, and the Water Crystal could've drowned its dwelling." Red Mage explained. Black Mage shrugged.

"I think you're worrying over nothing." Black Mage told him, "Let's just go find Dr. Urn or whatever his name was and ask him if he knows anything else. Maybe he could tell us where we go next." Everyone agreed on this, and starting going to the city once again. When they got there, the town had nearly transformed. Flowers were blooming everywhere, and the ground was thick with grass. The buildings seemed to repair themselves, and all of the people looked much healthier. When they'd gotten into the town square, Dr. Unne was running up to them.

"Thank you all so much!" he panted, tired from the run, "My goodness, we've tried to defeat the Vampire… You four truly are the Light Warriors!" Black Mage chortled.

"Actually, the Vampire wasn't the problem. But yeah, we did get the Earth orb to relight and the Earth crystal to shine again." Black Mage admitted, "But now we don't know what else to do…" Dr. Unne handed them a small piece of paper.

"My brother in Onrak said he pinpointed the location of the Fire Crystal." Dr. Unne said as Red Mage and Black Mage scanned the paper, "It's near a volcano northwest of Crescent Isle." Thief clapped his hands together encouragingly.

"Great! So, let's get moving!" he said. He was about to turn around when Dr. Unne stopped him.

"Hold it, cupcake." Dr. Unne said, "You need a canoe to get there, but the only people to have a canoe for the journey would be the Circle of Sages in Crescent City."

"So basically we're forced into having contact with a circle of old men?" Black Mage asked. Dr. Unne looked like he'd throw something.

"Don't talk as though they're nothing!" he snapped, "The Circle of Sages is a group of prophets who've seen the future and predicted the coming of the Light Warriors. Besides the canoe, they have much more information for you all." Black Mage sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to dissuade his friends from this. Instead, he looked towards Thief.

"Sounds like this Crescent Isle is a pretty important place! But where exactly is it?" Thief asked. Dr. Unne straightened his glasses and took out a small map from his pocket.

"It's southwest of here." He replied, opening the map. He pointed to a small city surrounded almost entirely a river, but after that, there was nothing but land. Black Mage raised his eyebrow when he took a look.

"I thought it was named because it was… I don't know… an island?" Black Mage spat, frustrated from the thought of traveling all that way. Red Mage examined the map more closely.

"Actually, it IS on a big island, but the real reason it's called Crescent Island is because of the crescent shaped lake it's built in." Red Mage explained. Dr. Unne seemed unreasonably amazed with Red Mage's theory.

"Amazing! No one would've even thought to suggest that!" Dr. Unne exclaimed, "Most think it was just a name given by a fluke! My word, you must have an intellect of a scholar!" Red Mage simply chuckled.

"Well, I didn't graduate high school for nothing. I'm not sure about most people, but I was paying attention in History." Red Mage said, "For example, did you know Imps and Giants are related from a DNA research that took place over 2000 years ago?" Dr. Unne just nodded as Red Mage went forth with his report. Thief just looked as though he'd been hit with a club. White Mage sat on the ground and listened intently.

"Oh great… Now we're wasting more time I could be using burning things." Black Mage mumbled. After it had gotten to over an hour of Red Mage and his useless babble in Black Mage's eyes, Black Mage had successfully dragged Red Mage outside towards the dock, with the other two close behind.

"Honestly, who _cares_ if Imps and Giants are related? We have to kill 'em anyway! There's no point to such _useless_ garbage!" Black Mage scolded, storming up to the ship's deck. He slumped into a seat as Thief took the wheel. White Mage sat next to Black Mage, and Red Mage was sitting on the railing, pen in hand.

"Ugh… What are you doing now, moron?" Black Mage asked.

"Dr. Unne said I would be an immense help in the field of monster research and status development. So, I'm writing down what I know to send to such facilities. This may be my calling!" Red Mage replied, as he excitedly scribbled down some notes, tore off a paper, and began to write again, "Oh, I hope people find my reports helpful."

"I know you'll do well!" White Mage said encouragingly, giving a gentle smile.

"Yeah, it's helped us get out of so many jams already!" Thief exclaimed, just as impressed. Black Mage, however, wasn't nearly as praising.

"I think they'll find your reports poorly thought out, inaccurate, and basically pieces of crap, like you." Black Mage mumbled, but Red Mage seemed to not have noticed as he continued to scribble his notes down. The trip was fairly peaceful until Thief stopped the boat abruptly. Black Mage scowled as he kept his balance.

"Why the hell did you stop?" Black Mage screamed.

"So I didn't run over these sharks!" Thief cried, pointing into the sea. Sure enough, a small school of sharks swam lazily by.

"But they're _sharks!_ They're monsters! We're SUPPOSED to kill them!" Black Mage argued. Just then, a big shark, possibly the leader of the school, flopped onto the deck. He waved his fin in detest.

"We're not monsters! We're simply trying to get to our usual Autumn migration spot! Now, I'm sorry we've inconvenienced you, but at least we didn't accidentally hit your ships!" The shark scolded harshly, "Anyway, thank you for your patience." With that, he dove back into the water after the other sharks. When they were gone, Red Mage immediately began writing furiously.

"Sharks appear to be fierce, but in actuality, they just want to migrate…" Red Mage thought out loud, "AMAZING! This could revolutionize the Sea Specimen Protect Units that want so desperately to save these creatures!" Needless to say, Red Mage was quite proud of himself. When they reached the shore, Black Mage picked up a rock and hurled it at Red Mage.

"Listen, RM. I don't care about the crap you're working on, so shut up about it." He commanded. Red Mage stuffed his papers into a pocket and tipped his hat.

"I'm sorry, BM. I merely forgot that you didn't graduate high school, so such matters might be nigh too complicated for you." he said, which wasn't a smart idea. Black Mage looked sourly pissed off, and he was sure the veins throbbing in his head were visible. Finally, he snapped once again.

"_AT LEAST I KNOW THIS!_" he screamed, aiming a Bolt2 spell at Red Mage. But, with pure luck, Red Mage spotted a penny on the ground and went to pick it up, and the bolt missed him entirely. Black Mage howled a war cry and began to throw a tantrum like a spoiled brat.

"BM, are you gonna be okay?" Thief asked, running over to help his psychotic friend. Black Mage got up and dusted himself off.

"Yeah. I think the salty sea air is making my brain go funny." Black Mage replied, although he really was talking about Red Mage.

"Then let's head for the town quickly so we can get the cleric to heal you." White Mage said, supporting Black Mage as though he'd broken a leg.

"Can't you two heal him?" Thief asked, tilting his head. Red Mage looked down.

"We haven't the powers to do that just yet." He replied, "We haven't had enough experience with life or battle to yet discover how to cure the mind. But that's why there are clerics." White Mage nodded.

"He's right. So, all the more reason to get to Crescent City." She said, "Gee, is it me or does it feel like we're just destined to get there? Everything feels like they're pushing us so we have to go there." Black Mage mumbled something unheard as they set through the path. After a long trek through the woods, made no easier by the old hydra they'd gotten directions from, the four found Crescent City.

"Is it me or is this place duller than Melmond?" Black Mage asked, "Where is everyone?" Red Mage took a guide off a local newsstand and read it.

"Well, Crescent City is like a trading community for warriors just passing through. No one really can live here." He replied, "Although the fact that the Fiend of Fire is around here doesn't help." The other three snapped to look at him.

"What?"

"We're that close?"

"Where do we go, RM?" they all kept asking. Red Mage, however, had as much of an answer as they did. He suggested they look for the Circle of Sages, but after an hour, they had no luck.

"I knew Unne was a liar." Black Mage said in a told-you-so way, "I knew I should've just killed him." Even White Mage admitted that the search was wearing on her. But just then, Thief turned in the direction of a small forest, listening intently.

"Thief, what's wrong? Do you hear something?" Red Mage asked.

"Probably hears a dying wolf or something." Black Mage commented, as Thief ran towards the trees. He beckoned for the others to follow.

"Guys, this way!" he called before disappearing through the trees. The three followed quickly, and soon they heard chanting, which they assumed was the Sages. Within a few minutes, they had entered a sacred clearing behind Thief, who was simply watching the old men. One of the men stopped chanting and walked over to them.

"At last!" he boomed, "The prophecy rings true! The Light Warriors have arrived!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're here." Black Mage said, "Listen, we're in a hurry. Give us the canoe and tell us where we can find the fire fiend."

"_Black Mage_!" White Mage hissed angrily, but the old man nodded and handed then an ore.

"As you wish. The canoe is in the Crescent Lake." He told them, "Listen well. The river is like a maze, and the volcano to the fire is dangerous. You must be careful." Black Mage's eyes widened.

"We're going into a _volcano?_" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice. The man nodded.

"Where else did you think Kary, fiend of Fire, lives? It's a perfect dwelling for her." He said, "Besides, it shant be a problem for a Black Mage as yourself." A drop of sweat rolled down Black Mage's head.

"Besides, you have Ice2, right?" Thief asked. Black Mage raised an eyebrow.

"Thief, no. We didn't have time to shop, remember?" Black Mage said, "Not like we could afford the damn prices anyway."

"Relax. We could use some toning up anyway." Red Mage said, "Let's just go outside, train for a bit, then head to wherever Kary is." White Mage and Thief agreed like little drones, but Black Mage had a small problem.

"RM, look at the prices. We need 40,000 GIL just for spells for me." He stated, showing Red Mage a pricing guide. Red Mage just smiled.

"It'll work out, trust me." Red Mage said confidently, "Onward, troops!" With that, he marched outside. Black Mage sighed heavily as he, White Mage, and Thief followed.

"Oh, I trust you… I trust you to get us killed."

---

Yay! A new mission! But can our heroes afford their spells? Will Kary wait to unleash her fiery wrath? Does the canoe work? And will Red Mage accidentally end up killing everyone? Find out in the next awesome chapter, so click that Review Button!


	16. Raking in the 'd'oh'

I thank you all for your support and for not getting mad at my lack of response! Now is the time we all have waited for, another awesome chapter! Remember what I said last chapter, okay? Anyway, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit!

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Having new spirit seemed to enlighten more than Fighter as seven more people stood in front of the fortress. Fighter walked through, inspecting them all.

"All right. Black Belt put me in charge of registration, and that's what I plan to do! Now, whoever brought you all here, state you name and everyone else's!" Fighter boomed. A blue-haired man in a bandana raised his hand, and Fighter allowed him to speak.

"My name is Firion." He said, "Behind me is Leon, Cecil, Kain, Cloud, Tidus, and Auron." Fighter held his sword like a ruler and gave Firion a skeptical look.

"And why did you come here?" Fighter asked, "How did you know about our cause, if in fact, it has nothing to do with any of you?" Firion pointed to the red-coat bearing, greasy-haired, sunglassed hero, Auron.

"He said he felt such a disturbance in the air." Firion replied, "Yeah, Auron is kind of freaky like that." Cloud threw his sword on the ground, looking rightly pissed off.

"I thought you said we were doing this to pay for my 8,000,000 Gil sword!" Cloud cried, kicking dirt, "Now that weapon store owner is gonna kill me!" Fighter, however, paid no attention to Cloud. He instead ran to the sword's aid, and dusted it off.

"You mean you use swords too?" Fighter asked, glee ringing in his voice. Cloud nodding, taking his sword back.

"Of course! Swords are the best damn thing since… oh, I don't know, cheese food!" Cloud replied proudly, "I feel sorry for the fools who try to take me on with fists alone." Fighter gave him a hearty pat on the back.

"I know how you feel, man." He said, "I felt that way when I held my first Claymore."

"Claymore? Dude, that is so twenty _years_ ago! Now people are going for Crystal Swords!" Cloud exclaimed, "Those things slice _anything_ in half!" Fighter's eyes widened at the thought of such a holy sword.

"Now I'm intrigued! Tell me more!" Fighter said as he and Cloud began to walk off.

"Fighter, what about registration?" Black Belt yelled, as he hopped off a roof he'd been working on. Fighter looked back, and gave a cheery wave. Black Belt was about to go after him when Auron stopped him.

"It's best not to go." He told him, "No one can resist the thought of a Crystal Sword…"

---

Meanwhile, our heroes were traveling slowly down the rivers of Crescent Island. As Thief steered, Red Mage held out his hat as an Imp threw 5 Gil in. White Mage sought to ignore this by reading, but Black Mage didn't have quite the peaceful outlet.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." He said, pacing along the deck, "This has got to be the _stupidest_ idea I've ever heard!" Red Mage took back his hat for a minute to answer Black Mage.

"Well, how else did you expect to raise enough for the spells? The monsters here were too hard!" Red Mage cried, "Thief nearly _died_ from the fiery breath of a hydra!" White Mage put down her book and looked up at Red Mage.

"I hate to say this, but hydras' breath isn't fiery." She commented, and went right back to reading. Red Mage blinked as he thought about what she said.

"Well, if the hydra didn't use fire, who did?" Red Mage asked. Black Mage whistled innocently as an Ogre threw in a chicken leg. Thief looked at him and stopped the canoe abruptly.

"Hey, HEY! Read the sign! We specifically said money only, pal!" Thief said sternly. The Ogre shamefully took back his chicken leg.

"Me sorry. Me have no Gil, but me wants to help the We Are Poor fund." The Ogre said, and walked back towards the fields. When he was out of sight, Black Mage immediately began his ranting again.

"And that's another thing! What kind of idiot would consider helping an organization called the We Are Poor fund?" Black Mage asked, "If you ask me, I say these guys are just bribing us so we don't kill them when we gain almighty powers!" A pirate who'd been walking towards the ship immediately stopped and looked at the Sahagin standing next to him.

"I _told_ you they were onto us!" he hissed, and the two quickly stalked back towards the ocean. White Mage once again stopped reading.

"Well, if we're to gain almighty powers, we need to level up. And this isn't doing it." White Mage said. Red Mage took out a flyer he'd found in Crescent City.

"I'd say you're wrong there, WM. It says here the scholars back in the Square offices are tinkering with a new advanced leveling up system where you don't need to kill mercilessly for gaining EXP." he explained, handing her the flyer, "For instance, we may be able to gain a level by simply giving a cat a fish or something like that." White Mage looked mildly interested, but Black Mage wasn't convinced.

"If you haven't noticed, chowderhead, we're NOT in the Square office and nothing even remotely close to this new "level up" system has even happened yet!" Black Mage yelled, throwing his hands out. Thief continued to steer again.

"Well, the way I see it, we're just "experimenting" with this new system!" Thief replied, "That way we know the boys back home are doing their jobs." Black Mage choked back the urge to set the canoe on fire and sat down, trying to cover his entire head with his hat. After an hour of trying to ignore the clinking of Gil being thrown into Red Mage's hat, Black Mage sat up a little more.

"Do we have enough yet?" he asked as a Hydra threw in some Gil. Thief gave it a cheery wave and counted the Gil. Black Mage tapped his foot impatiently until Thief finally gave the answer.

"Well, after that snake woman gave us a pile of gold, we now have 75,000 Gil, excluding the 10 that Hydra just gave us. That should be enough for a spell for each of you and some spiffy new armor!" Thief exclaimed, and began to row the ship around. That is, until the Ogre came back, this time carrying a large basket.

"Ugh, what does he want now?" Black Mage asked. The Ogre set the basket on the small canoe.

"Me think of way to help tiny humans. Me give big basket of Ogre Cookies to feed tiny humans." The Ogre said, "Me hopes you like!" White Mage, Red Mage, and Thief smiled nervously and waved to the large beast, and then continued to do whatever they were doing beforehand. But because they were so busy, no one saw Black Mage throw a Bolt spell and smite the Ogre, who crashed into the river.

"What was that explosion?" White Mage asked, turning a page in her book without any real expression of interest. Black Mage turned to her and gave a cheesy smile.

"Probably nothing overly important." He replied innocently. After that, the trip back into Crescent City was a quiet one until they actually went into the city. As soon as they got into a shop, Black Mage began an argument with the shopkeeper.

"I'm sorry, good sir, but I will not lower my prices!" the witch said sternly.

"But 20,000 Gil for a stupid Fire3 spell is ridiculous! How can I afford that AND Bolt3 with only a 20,000 Gil budget?" Black Mage asked, stomping around. Red Mage gave him a tap on the shoulder.

"You know, if I buy Bolt3, it'll almost be like having Bolt3 yourself." He tried to reason, but not surprisingly, it wasn't effective. All it really did was piss Black Mage off even more. He turned around, eyes glowing an unnatural red.

"Shut up, you! There is no way you'll make this any better without me killing you!" Black Mage hissed. Then he stopped to think about what he said, "On second thought… keep going." White Mage thankfully was better with reasoning.

"BM, why don't you just wait until we release the Fire Crystal? We'll no doubt have to come back here, so just buy one spell now and we'll get the rest later!" She said, exasperated by the unnecessary argument. Black Mage shrugged.

"Fine, I'll take Bolt3." Black Mage mumbled. The witch handed him a scroll, and Red Mage stepped up to the counter.

"I'll have Bolt3 as well." He said, but Black Mage shook his head.

"No, I don't think so, cream puff." He laughed, shaking a finger, "I'm not going to let you have any spell I'm already using currently. You'll take Life and like it."

"But I don't want life! Fine, I'll take Fire3 then!" Red Mage huffed. The witch looked down at her clipboard.

"You're lucky, hon. Fire3 just went down to a level 5 spell, so it'll only cost you 8000 Gil." She said, tilting her glasses. Red Mage gladly paid for the scroll, and also selected Cure3 from the small level 5 scroll stand. Black Mage nearly blew a gasket as White Mage took her turn. Like Red Mage, she also selected from the level 5 stand.

"I'll take Life and Harm3" she said. The witch handed her the scrolls as she paid for them. Black Mage stomped up to the stand again, and slapped the Bolt3 scroll on the table.

"I want to refund this and get Fire3." He said, but the witch shook her head.

"Sorry, but we don't do that." She told him, and showed him a sign which read "No refunds" on it. White Mage and Thief dragged Black Mage out of the magic shop as Red Mage made his way to the weapons shop. The prices there were somewhat more affordable, and after the purchases, everyone was suitably equipped to go into the volcano… or as equipped as they could be.

"Was it really smart to buy silver weapons?" Black Mage asked, as they walked towards the river where their canoe laid, "I mean, what if it just melts? We are going into a _volcano_, after all."

"If you think about the statistics, EVERYTHING is kind of made of metal nowadays. Besides, this is sterling silver. It'll reflect the flames." Red Mage explained, and waved his Silver sword slowly until it shined from the sunlight. He sheathed it and didn't give it a second thought as he climbed into the canoe.

"I still don't know about this…" Black Mage said, "How many people do we know have gone into a volcano and live to tell about it?" Thief got into the canoe next and picked up an ore.

"I don't know, but how many people can say they're the Light Warriors?" Thief asked in response. Black Mage helped White Mage climb in, and soon got into the canoe himself. Thief pushed off, and the small adventure began again. However, it took about ten seconds until they got lost.

"Thief, what's wrong? Why aren't we moving?" White Mage asked. But she got her answer as the river cut into two separate roads. It was obvious Thief couldn't make up his mind.

"RM, which way do we go?" Thief asked. But when he turned to face his friend, Red Mage's face was a very pale color.

"I don't know…" he said quietly. Black Mage grabbed his collar and pulled him upward.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Black Mage screamed, "How can you not know! Didn't you buy any maps?" Red Mage shook his head, and Black Mage tightened his grip.

"It's not like people just randomly make maps of rivers! I didn't think we should waste time looking!" Red Mage choked, as Black Mage had begun to strangle him. Black Mage suddenly let the choking Red Mage go, and he fell to the floor.

"Well, I'll give you credit for not wasting time." Black Mage said, uncharacteristically calm, "But the one time we need a map is the one time you don't have one. So, Mr. Survival Expert, what should we do?" Red Mage got up and dusted himself off, shocked by Black Mage's sudden personality change.

"Okay, this river is undeniably big. We should probably use this as a starting point by marking it with a Fire spell. Then we should take the left path and see where it goes." Red Mage replied, thinking clearly about what their options were. But unfortunately for him, their options included getting lost, or going back to Crescent City, and he didn't feel he should tell Black Mage that.

"But what if we get lost and have to turn back?" Thief asked, oblivious to the fact that that question was the one Red Mage was trying to avoid.

"Uh… Well…" Red Mage stuttered, lost for a good reply. Thankfully for him, a Hydra was swimming down the river.

"Well, never thought I'd see humans around the river again! Not since the accident back in '87…" it said, "Is something wrong? You folks look a little worse for the wear." Black and White Mage both just stared at each other, and Thief looked even more confused. Red Mage leaned over the side of the canoe.

"We're a little lost. Can you help us find Gurgu Volcano?" Red Mage asked. The Hydra merely blinked at the question as though he couldn't process it, and then he called a Crocodile over.

"What's up?" the Croc asked, swimming over.

"These clearly good people want to know how to get to the old volcano that Kary lives in." the Hydra replied. The Croc looked like it might just have a heart attack.

"G-G-Gurgu Volcano? Kary? Why would they want to go _there_?" the Croc asked, "It's dangerous and lava-filled! Not to mention really, really hot!" Black Mage rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Gee, really? We thought it'd be like the North Pole, what with all the LAVA!" Black Mage yelled sarcastically, "Forget your technical mumbo-jumbo! Just tell us how to get to the damn hole, lest I kill you with Bolt3." For total fear of electric death, the Croc pointed his tail east.

"Take this path for a while, and then it'll split. When it does, go south and follow it wherever it goes until you see a… well, volcano. That's how you know you're there." The Croc explained. Thief picked up the ore again and waved.

"Thanks, guys!" he called as the Croc and Hydra both dove back into the murky deep. He pushed off again, and took the left path, as per the Croc's suggestion. Turning around the corners were hard, but thankfully the current wasn't strong. Soon they came to another split, like the Croc said, and took the road south.

"What is that… unbearable smell?" Black Mage asked, as he sniffed at the air. Red Mage sniffed as well, and sneezed.

"Smells like brimstone… I think we're close." Red Mage replied, "Look. It's starting to get foggier." Thief worked even harder to control the canoe in the thickening fog, no doubt from the sudden bursts of heat from the volcano. White Mage decided to peer out and see if she could see the land.

"Thief! Slow down! The land…" she tried to call, but she was too late. The canoe smashed into the shore, and the four heroes flew out into the sandy beach.

"Thief, you idiot!" Black Mage yelled, getting up and spitting out sand. Red Mage got up as well and turned around.

"It matters not how we landed. We've made it!" he said, "Inside that cave is the fiend of Fire, Kary." Black Mage flicked his wrist with boredom.

"Well, let's do what we do best then. Annoy the crap out of her until she blows herself up." Black Mage said, strolling into the cave. Red Mage helped Thief up, and with White Mage, they followed Black Mage quickly.

"Maybe we won't get singed in here…"

---

Alright! Our heroes are onto their next Crystal! But can they defeat Kary? Is she guarding the Crystal that powers the Orb? Was Cherry Town rebuilt? And what happened to the monsters who generously gave to the We Are Poor fund? Find out the answers next chapter, so click that Review button!


	17. Hazy days and a new, unexpected ally!

So many reviews... Time for another chapter! Tears of Light, thank you, but please STOP telling me what happens in game. I've already beaten the game as well, so I know what happens. And I'm not sure how to feel about your story, how similar it is to mine. And if you already know plot twists, please keep them to yourself because you may ruin it for other readers who haven't played the game yet. Anyway, I don't own FF or 8-bit.

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After hours of Fighter's disappearance with no signs of ever coming back, Black Belt decided to start rebuilding the town and recruiting the new members his own way. He paced through the small line of people still left from last registration.

"Okay, with the exception of Cloud, we all have managed to stay here. That's a good thing." Black Belt said, "Now we must start working! We'll be working hard, long, and occasionally without breaks! Are there any questions before we begin?" A blue-armored man in a dragon's helmet raised his hand.

"Yeah, when do I get to stab stuff with my spear? As a dragoon, I HAVE to use my spear." Kain said, making a few heads turn to stare at him. Black Belt sighed.

"Great... I leave Fighter in charge and he brings me a pack of idiots..." Black Belt mumbled, "Fine, all right. What's your name?"

"Kain." Kain said, smiling with pride.

"Well, you're going to be in charge of food. By food, I mean you start stabbing the water mercilessly until you catch a few fish. Understood?" Black Belt asked. Kain nodded happily and ran off towards the river. Black Belt turned back to the rest of the group. "You other guys are going to help Sabin chop wood and make tiles. Now get moving!" Black Belt barked.

"But none of us had breakfast yet! Don't you realize how early we had to get up?" Cecil asked, knitting his brow. Black Belt slapped his forehead, groaned, and turned back towards the river.

"Kain, hurry up with those fish! We'll never get anything started if you don't!" Black Belt called. Unfortunately, Kain was so excited about using his shiny spear that he tripped on a twig and fell into the river, only to be eaten by Killer Fish.

---

Meanwhile, the heroes were _very_ slowly making their way through the first few yards of the volcano. By making their way through, I mean Thief was tiptoeing towards something, touched it lightly, yelped, and fled back to his friends.

"What is the problem _this_ time?" Black Mage asked, rolling his eyes, "We've done nothing but watch you do this for over twenty minutes!" Thief blew on his hand defensively.

"But there's lava over that way!" he cried, as Red Mage cast an Ice spell on his hand. Black Mage snickered.

"We're in a volcano, you dolt. There's lava _everywhere_." Black Mage sneered, putting his hands on his hips. White Mage looked around, trying to find any path that may not have been lava-ridden. She pointed to her left, towards a far-off door.

"What if we tried that door?" she asked, "Maybe it'll lead to Kary." Black Mage heaved a heavy sigh and kicked a small rock into a puddle of lava.

"That'll bring us back to the problem that there's lava everywhere we go." Black Mage argued, "Okay, let's relay our situation. We're in a volcano, where there's bound to be lava. Every few steps brings us to the fiery death of which we hate so much. But how do we get past it?" Everyone began to think of a logical solution to their obvious problem. Finally, it was Red Mage who no doubt held an idea.

"What if we continuously cast Ice2 on everything?" he asked, "As we've learned, Fire and Ice don't mix, so we should be able to counteract the heat." Unfortunately, only Thief was really into the idea.

"Well, we could do that, but there are three problems." White Mage said slowly.

"Do elaborate." Red Mage coaxed.

"Well, for one, only you and Black Mage can actually use Ice2. That brings us to our MP. You only have 3 MP, Black Mage has 4. And as BM clearly stated, we're in a volcano. The overabundance of Fire over Ice will quickly make any ice spells we cast evaporate into nothing, even if you continuously cast spells. By which, you'd run out of MP before we even lowered the temperature by 2 degrees." White Mage explained. Red Mage seemed to consider her explanation carefully as Black Mage picked at a speck of dried lava.

"Well, what other option do we have?" Red Mage asked, "Wooden bridges will burn, and metal will melt in this heat." Both White and Red Mage seemed to refuse to give up their ideas. Black Mage couldn't take the battle and stepped in.

"I have a genius idea! Why don't we use one of us as a human raft to safely take us to the other side of the lava lake?" he suggested with an evil smirk, "I personally vote for either Red Mage or Thief to be the raft." Thief knelt down, looking a little nervous.

"I'm not sure, BM. According to RM's guide, I have a pretty crappy Magic Block stat." Thief said, circling his finger around a pebble. This, however, only made Black Mage smile more.

"All the more better." he said darkly, then cheerily added, "After all, it's for the good of the team!" Red Mage started to pace around, with so many options buzzing in his head. Finally, he managed to bump into something.

"OW! What the..." Red Mage looked to see what he bumped into, "Oh... OH! Guys, I found some treasure! Come here!" The other three ran towards him, and looked at what appeared to be a good-sized chest.

"Think it'll have anything to help us?" Thief asked, tilting his head.

"The only way to know is to open it." White Mage replied, and Red Mage flipped the top open. Inside was a large metal suit, painted entirely red with a fire symbol on it. Black Mage disgustedly picked it up.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, and tried it on, "The stupid thing won't even fit me! RM, find out what it is!" He threw the suit at Red Mage, who immediately took out his Brady Games guide and flipped through its pages. He stopped at a page, nodded, looked at the armor, and nodded again.

"Well? We haven't got all day!" Black Mage snapped.

"It appears to be a Flame Mail." Red Mage said, "It protects against Fire attacks, but there's a problem. Only Fighter can wear it." Black Mage kicked at the dirt furiously.

"Perfect. Just when we need the little retard, and he's off in LaLaLand." Black Mage said angrily, "Now what! We have a stupid piece of metal that none of us can even use!" Red Mage put the guide away and looked at the armor, then the chest. He dumped the armor into the lava and set the box into the lava, receiving stares as he did so...

Fifteen minutes later, our heroes were floating along the lava in the treasure chest, using Red Mage's sword as an ore. Black Mage spat into the lava irritably.

"I can't believe this is your idea of "traversing through the volcano." Black Mage sighed, "Did it ever occur to you that there may be problems with this idea?" Red Mage handed his sword to Thief and turned to face Black Mage. Uncharacteristically, he looked really mad.

"Well, at least we can pass through the lava! What problems are you talking about?" Red Mage yelled back. Black Mage gave a harsh cackle and pointed to the outside of the chest.

"What I mean, moron, is that this toothpick joint is made of wood, so it's eventually gonna burn. And when it does, what do you think is going to happen to us?" Black Mage asked. Red Mage was about to argue when he looked over the sea of lava, and then at the box, which was slowly being devoured by the flames.

"At least I kept us from dying right away." he said quietly. However, that comforted no one as everyone began to scream their lungs out, trying to roe quickly back to the crater shore.

"What do we do now?" White Mage cried as Thief began to throw the rocks of lava Black Mage was in the process of freezing over. Red Mage was steering quickly as a spurt of lava blew his sword out of his hands.

"I guess we can scream now." Black Mage replied, although that wasn't much help, "I just ran out of MP." Everyone immediately began screaming again as the box began to break apart into tiny little pieces of wood. Thief pulled Red Mage onto a piece and tried his best to find Black and White Mage, but the smoke was too thick. Soon, everything went black for our heroes...

Red Mage woke up with a start and looked around. He was in a nice, warm room that smelled surprisingly like Oust. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the dark again. When they did, he saw that Thief was next to him, and White Mage wasn't too far away either. Black Mage was sleeping against a large boulder. Red Mage shook Thief lightly.

"Thief... wake up." he whispered, "Come on, wake up. We need to find out where we are!" Thief stirred a little, and opened his eyes slowly. He sat up and shook his head.

"RM, where are we?" he asked. Red Mage sighed.

"I don't know... we need to wake up WM and BM." Red Mage told him, "We might be safe from the lava, but we're still in the volcano, I think." Thief nodded and stood up. He walked over to White Mage and began to wake her up. Red Mage walked over to Black Mage.

"BM, get up." he said flatly.

"What's wrong now?" Black Mage mumbled. He sluggishly sat up and rubbed his eyes, realizing they were no longer in the lava lake. His voice trembled slightly when he asked what happened again. White Mage and Thief walked over to hear what Red Mage had to say, but sadly, there wasn't much he could explain.

"So then how did we end up here?" White Mage asked curiously, taking a second good look around the room. Now that she mentioned it, the room seemed to be trying to resemble a bedroom, for there were large rocks that were shaped as beds, and a few small candles to light the room, but they had been blown out. Red Mage cast a Fire spell on one and held it towards what he hoped was a door. To his relief, it led out into a hallway. He turned to his friends.

"I'm ashamed of my lack of knowledge, but I bet we'll find something if we go outside. At the very least, we might find a monster who might spare us the mercy of telling us where we are before it kills us." Red Mage said. He turned around again and walked into the hallway, the other three following. The hallway was even dimmer than the room, and much warmer. But to no one's surprise, the strong smell of brimstone still lingered in the air.

"Safe to assume we're still in the volcano." Thief whispered, and a warm hand grasped his shoulder. He spun around and slashed instinctively with his dagger, only to pull his hand sharply away in pain.

"Whoa! Settle down there, kind sir!" a large human-shaped fire said, "We didn't expect you four to be up for quite a while!" Behind the first Fire were a few more Fires, and they all gave cheery waves and warm smiles.

"Um... not that we're scared, but who are you guys?" White Mage asked, trying her best to keep her skepticism off her face. The first Fire offered his hand for a shake, but for obvious reasons, he quickly withdrew it.

"How rude of me! We are the Gurgu Welcoming Committee." he boomed happily, and the Fires behind him nodded and murmured with agreement, "We were patrolling the top floor when we found you all unconscious aboard some pieces of quickly burning wood. So, we called out the Bulls living here to help get you to a room so you could recover." If ever a time for eye-popping was appropriate, it was now. The four heroes stood there, eyes widened, at the story. Finally, Black Mage managed to get some words out of his mouth.

"And why would you help us?" he asked, "You're _monsters_! You're supposed to kill us!"

"Well, yeah, maybe 100 years ago, but Kary's changed! Living in a volcano for centuries is bound to make anyone reconsider joining the side of evil." the Fire replied.

"Wait, Kary's HERE?" Thief asked, "But... but..." The Fire nodded.

"Yup. She's one floor down though. We asked her what to do if you woke up, but she didn't say. Anyway, you should probably go talk to her. She does own this place." the Fire told them. Thief was about to protest when Black Mage covered his mouth, an evil grin growing on his face.

"Of course we should. After all, we have to thank that Kary." Black Mage said through a false grin and even falser cheerfulness. Quickly, he dragged the other three around the corner, out of earshot for the Fires.

"BM, are you insane? We can't fight her yet! She'll fry us!" Thief cried, pulling on his own hair. Black Mage, however, was undaunted with such a threat. He merely chuckled.

"Listen. They didn't expect us to be awake, meaning Kary doesn't expect us to be awake. If we go in quickly, we might just ambush her!" Black Mage replied gleefully, "Therefore reawakening the Crystal and relighting our Orb quickly so we can do away with this trash heap." White Mage tapped her foot.

"There's a slight problem. Where are the stairs? If we can't find them quickly, we'll have to waste time looking for them, giving Kary enough time to prepare for our battle." White Mage argued calmly.

"Maybe she doesn't want to fight." Red Mage suggested, "She DID allow us to recover. Why would our enemy do that for us?" Black Mage gave another evil smirk.

"She was trying to trick us, you idiot. She's attempting to fill us with hope so it'll only be more pleasant when she crushes us to pieces." he told Red Mage. Just then, a Fire appeared, walking towards them good-naturedly.

"What are you doing here? The stairs are the other way! Come on." The Fire said, and led the heroes towards the staircase. He urged them to go down, and with a fear of being seared, they did. Down below was somehow cooler than the other floors, and surprisingly lava-free. But now the heroes had a bigger problem. There were about seven different paths they could take to reach Kary.

"Well, this is great." Black Mage muttered angrily, "How do we know which one to take?" Thief began pointing and playing Eeny-meeny-miny-moe, but everyone ignored him. Red Mage looked at each pathway, sniffing each one contently.

"RM, what's wrong?" White Mage asked, trying to figure out what Red Mage was doing.

"I'm smelling for anything that might lead us to Kary. This path smells strongly of some kind of perfume, so I think we should go down there." Red Mage replied thoughtfully. Black Mage walked next to him and sniffed as well. Indeed there was a strong scent of perfume coming from the southwest corridor.

"For once, I agree with you." Black Mage mumbled, "But you're going in first." Red Mage agreed, and they set off down the short hallway, where a large door stood. Red Mage walked ahead and knocked gently.

"You may enter." A deep female voice echoed, and the door opened. Red Mage walked in as the others waited patiently. A few minutes passed, and Red Mage still hadn't come out. Black Mage was getting slightly annoyed.

"What's taking that idiot so long?" Black Mage asked furiously, "Do I have to do this myself?" He walked up to the door and pounded it angrily. Red Mage answered.

"Guys, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yeah. What the hell is keeping you?" Black Mage asked. Red Mage walked out of the way to let his friends in. He turned to Kary.

"These are the buddies I was telling you about." he told her, "We wanted to thank you for rescuing us." Kary smiled.

"It wasn't any problem. After being secluded for centuries, I know how it feels to be burned. I felt that I might be able to have a word with you four if I helped you out." Kary said, "I do realize you are the Light Warriors." Black Mage cackled.

"Yeah, and unfortunately for you, we came to kill you." Black Mage replied, brandishing his staff. Kary's eyes widened as if she were about to cry.

"Kill me? But without me, you won't get the Fire Crystal!" she cried, as Red Mage patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Then you should start talking." White Mage said.

"Well, I meant to get rid of that Crystal years ago, but I didn't know who to give it to. But when you came along, I knew it was time." Kary said, "But the reason you need me is because the Crystal is doused in flames, and as the fiend of Fire, I can withstand the heat."

"Then why not get it now?" Thief asked.

"I was about to until you threatened me. Hold on." Kary said, and left for a back room. Within a minute, she came back holding the Crystal. She set it down carefully and urged Red Mage to relight it. He did so, and the warmth of the volcano slowly died.

"Kary, thank you." White Mage said genuinely, "But why did you help us?" Kary sighed and sat down.

"Well, I need your help. I want to find my old friends. I found a document from an unknown author and he plans to do away with us. We fiends were tricked. So, I figured that our enemy is the same. I was hoping that I'd be able to reason with the other three fiends to stop Chaos." Kary explained. Red Mage looked down sadly.

"Well, we already killed Lich..." he said. Kary looked hurt, but then smiled.

"I see... Well, there are still two left. I'm sure they'd help if they understood. Please let me at least come with you until you relight the other two orbs." Kary pleaded. The four looked at each other and whispered some things, then they turned to Kary.

"All right, you can come." Red Mage said, "It wouldn't hurt to have you along, but you can't cause us trouble." Kary nodded gratefully.

"Just don't double-cross us either!" Black Mage added. Kary nodded silently again, and slithered towards the door.

"I assure you I won't. Now we must hurry. Chaos is gaining power even as we speak!"

---

Wow, what a twist! Our heroes have Kary on their side now! But can she be trusted? Will they be able to persuade the other fiends? Is Chaos gaining that much power? And is Cherry Town going to be rebuilt? Find out the answer to these questions next chapter, so click that Review button!


	18. The Castle of Ordeals and death

Sorry for the lateness, I've been playing Morrowind! Anyway, Tears of Light, I'm sorry I had to say something. Yes, I've played almost every FF game ever created. Gameorama91, I can only say that my team was the best I ever experimented with. But be careful in the beginning, the Red Mage died the most for me. Anyway, I don't own FF or 8-bit!

---

Without breakfast, construction wasn't going well for the town of Cherry. So far, Auron kept chopping wood over three inches too short, a tile hit Firion straight on the head, and Leon kept using blitzes on everything he saw move.

"NO! You can't do that!" Sabin yelled, "That is not the way to use an Aura Bolt!" Unfortunately, Sabin was about five seconds too late. Leon, in his haste to make more wood, blasted down a grove of trees with a bolt of energy from his fist, reducing the grove to a mere pile of ash.

"Why art thou teaching thy comrades blitzes?" Cyan said, coming up. Sabin turned around and nearly hugged Cyan.

"Buddy! Where have you been?" Sabin asked, and then returned the old man's point, "I'm teaching them my awesome fighting moves so we don't need to rely on puny swords to do the work. They'll most probably break and kill us." Cyan drew his sword and leaned on it.

"Thou art getting such an idea backwards." He said in his English tone, "It is thy sword which can cut the mightiest woods, not thy fist." He turned to Firion and Cecil, as they both held swords.

"Yeah. I mean, what would be the point of making swords if our fists were better?" Cecil asked. Black Belt walked up crossly, intent on stopping the small debate.

"Okay, look. I don't know who you are, but you're not on registration." Black Belt said, "And the sign clearly states that you have to be registered to help us out." Sabin put up a hand in silent relaxation.

"It's cool! Cyan is one of the strongest people I know!" Sabin said. Black Belt looked over Cyan carefully.

"Well, he does look strong. But are you willing to work for hours without food until Fighter comes back?" Black Belt asked.

"In Doma, I LIVED without food. It shalt not be a problem." Cyan replied.

"Okay, he's in." Black Belt agreed, and walked Cyan to the group, "Guys, this is Cyan, and he's come to help us. Now, I know we haven't really done much since we began, but hopefully he can get us moving. Let's go!" And with that, everyone began to work again.

---

Meanwhile, our four heroes rushed out of the volcano as Kary led them out. The ground had begun to rumble angrily as they left the Crystal room, so Kary was forced to carry the four through the rising currents of lava. Finally, the volcano erupted right as they got outside. Without even thinking, Kary jumped into the water and the group was washed a short distance until they hit another small island.

"Is everyone okay?" Thief asked as Red Mage spat out some water. Black Mage nodded and wrung out his hat. Red Mage wasn't choking, so Thief assumed he was fine. But White Mage was worried about Kary.

"I don't think she's okay." White Mage told Red Mage as he went to look, "She jumped straight into the water..." Kary had kept her red coloring, but the fire around her had been drowned out, and her snake-like tail and arms were withering.

"I don't get why she'd do that." Black Mage said, "I mean, she just committed suicide! Is she stupid?" Red Mage had knelt down and was checking Kary's pulse.

"She was trying to help us..." he replied sadly, "She may not have been human, but she wasn't a monster. Now she's dead..." Thief picked up a stick and poked at Kary. She didn't even twitch. Tears slowly fell down White Mage's eyes until Thief got an idea.

"Wait, remember what the Fires said? Kary lives in fire, so what if casting Fire spells revives her?" Thief suggested. Black Mage didn't seem to care too much, but the other two perked up at the suggestion.

"That... that might just work!" Red Mage exclaimed, "But I alone don't have enough power to save her. BM, we need your help." Black Mage turned around sharply, and his reply was not a happy one.

"What! Revive her? You've got to be kidding. RM, she's a fiend!" Black Mage yelled. Red Mage looked down, but he was not giving up. After a few moments of his silent contemplation, Black Mage thought he'd won until Red Mage spoke up.

"She saved our lives. She agreed to help us. Without her, we'd be smears on her walls. We owe her our lives, so the least we can do is save hers." Red Mage growled calmly, but nonetheless angrily. White Mage and Thief shivered at the intensity of Red Mage's voice, and even Black Mage was a bit impressed with him. Without another question, Black Mage stood next to Red Mage and the two began to cast Fire3.

"FIRE3!" They both yelled at the same time. Two large fires immediately encased Kary, and then died out a few minutes later. Patiently, the four waited. But she didn't move.

"Did it work?" Thief asked. Red Mage slowly crept closer to Kary, and she opened her eyes. Slowly, she sat up and looked at the four, untangling her wild hair.

"Not exactly a great swim, was it?" she asked, as her tail and arms began to stretch, as if testing their life force. White Mage giggled, but Black Mage just glared at her.

"You killed yourself! You're lucky RM was so merciful! Because of him, we just broke the biggest law of heroism!" Black Mage screeched, but Kary paid him no attention. Instead, she listened as Red Mage thanked her for what she did.

"It was nothing." She told them all, "But now we must hurry. There are a lot of things you still have to do before we can even attempt to find Kraken, the next fiend." White Mage, who'd been paying attention the most, tilted her head.

"What kind of things? Is it hard to get to him?" White Mage asked. Kary nodded grimly.

"I'll explain once we get to the sea. Thief, once we're on there, you'll need to sail Southwest for a bit. I'll tell you when to stop." Kary said, and they went to get onto the canoe. The lava that gushed out from the volcano opened a shortcut straight to the docks, so Thief took that path and soon everyone was sailing peacefully on the sea.

"Okay, Kary. We're on sea, so start squawking." Black Mage said. Kary, who'd been staring at the sea, sighed and sat down.

"Okay... well, Kraken set a barrier in his lair that doesn't let weaker warriors in. So, we need to give you all more power. Has anyone heard of Bahamut?" Kary asked. Red Mage was the one to pay attention this time.

"I have. But isn't he just a legend?" Red Mage asked.

"No, he's all too real." Kary explained, "And he'll be the one to grant your power. But in order to see him, we have to go to the Castle of Ordeals and get the Rat's tail." White Mage raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and Black Mage laughed so hard that he fell to the floor.

"A Rat tail? You actually expect us to find a Rat tail?" he laughed, rolling around, "What _NONSENSE!_ Look, lady, you may be over 200 years old, but we're not so stupid as to go on a wild goosechase for a Rat tail!" Black Mage continued to cackle as Thief walked down from the steering wheel.

"For that matter, can't we just use any rat's tail? Why do we have to go to a castle to get it?" he asked, "I mean, there are rats everywhere, aren't there?"

"Yes, but the tail we need is from the Dire Scat Rat." Kary explained, "It is a legendary rat who could cause any disease with a bite of its fangs." Black Mage had stopped laughing and was now sulking.

"Then why not go for its fangs?" he asked, "Think of the power we'd wield!" Kary turned to him sharply, and her gaze made him shiver.

"Because, no one should wield such a dangerous power!" Kary hissed angrily, "Bahamut needs the tail, as it supplies the antidote to every disease known to man, monster, dragon, and fiend. Without it, the spread of Noxus and Carlipuss could wipe us all out!" White Mage looked into the murky seawater thoughtfully.

"The Elders of the White clan told me about those diseases... They've already dwindled down the Dwarves to a mere population of 500. And according to my uncle's last reports, it'll spread to Lufeinia next." White Mage added sadly, clutching her robes. Black Mage blinked.

"But... that's where we come from." Black Mage said absentmindedly, "All right, we don't have much choice anymore. We need that Rat Tail. Thief, keep driving!" With that, Thief returned to the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the ship came to a halt quickly.

"Thief, what's wrong?" Red Mage asked, as he was thrown slightly forward from the jerk of the ship. Thief looked over the railing, very confused.

"I don't know! Something's jamming the ship! It isn't budging." Thief called back, trying to move the ship forward. But all he did was make a huge Ochu very angry. It lurched onto the ship and roared violently.

"Holy crap! RM, what _is_ that thing?" Black Mage screamed. Red Mage shivered and his voice shook as he talked.

"T-that's an Ochu... one of the most feared sea creatures to exist..." Red Mage said, "Even worse, it's stronger than the Red Ochus near Gurgu." White Mage gave a yelp as she listened to the Ochu screech with anger, and Kary slithered forward, six swords drawn.

"I'll handle this. Thief, the ship should be freed, so keep steering!" Kary commanded. Thief obeyed at lightning speed, but it wasn't for the better. Both Kary and the Ochu swayed as the ship moved, making it hard for either to hit each other. But finally, one of Kary's strikes made its mark.

"Flaming Tongue of the Lizards!" Kary yelled, and her sword flared up, searing the Ochu and sending it flying into the sea. Everyone cheered happily as Kary sheathed all of her swords and wiped her forehead.

"Whoa! That was absolutely amazing!" Red Mage exclaimed, "I've never even _heard_ of your attack let alone see it in action!"

"If Fighter were here, he'd be in love." Black Mage commented. Kary laughed at the remark.

"Thanks, but it was nothing." she said, "We really need to focus on the castle." But Thief had just docked the ship as she said this. White Mage, Black Mage, and Thief hopped out of the ship, and with Red Mage's help, Kary joined them. Together, they walked through the rotten docks and through the rusted gates into a very old castle.

"Does anyone live here?" White Mage asked, as she tiptoed inside.

"They did at some point, but I doubt they do now." Kary replied, examining a dusty couch. Thief touched an old picture, and it fell off the wall and shattered all over the floor.

"If they did, they'd have to either be undead, or have nerves of steel to like this place..." Thief whispered, inching away from the picture. Black Mage walked to the center of what could have been a living room and looked around. There were hallways upon hallways they could go, but it was probably agreed that no one, not even Kary, wanted to be here. Black Mage looked at the fire fiend.

"Okay, we're in. Now take us to the Rat's tail so we can move on and not get any kind of sickness here." Black Mage demanded. Kary looked nervous as she turned to find any signs of a floor map. Thankfully someone left a note.

"What's it say?" Thief asked, looking over Kary's shoulder.

"It says '_Though many paths exist, only one will choose your fate. Use the pillars._" Kary repeated, "I wonder what that could possibly mean..." Red Mage walked over to the first pillar he saw and looked at it carefully.

"Maybe there's some kind of key to them or something..." he said to himself, touching the pillar, "WHOA!" Suddenly, Red Mage disappeared. The other four rushed to where he stood, completely in panic.

"Red Mage? Where did you go?" White Mage called, frantically. Unfortunately, she didn't get a reply. Thief looked around the other side of the pillar for any signs of him, but nothing was there. Cautiously, Kary touched the pillar and disappeared too.

"W-where'd she go?" Thief asked. A minute later, Kary reappeared, looking relieved.

"Red Mage was right. These pillars are some kind of teleportation device that warps us around the castle. I think we can use them and we'll get to the Tail." she explained, and disappeared again.

"Huh... so there's a first for everything, I suppose." Black Mage said, as he, White Mage, and Thief stepped into the pillar, only to appear beside Kary and Red Mage two seconds later.

"Now what way?" Thief asked, as Kary thought about it. The first room was easier, there was only one pillar. But now they stood between four pillars, and no one knew where they led. Kary had to make a decision, so she carefully touched one and disappeared. Without thinking, the four touched it as well, and landed outside.

"Hey, how'd we get out here?" Thief asked, when he opened his eyes and took a look around.

"Obviously, this is a puzzle we have to get right." Kary said, "I think if we step on the wrong pillar, we end up outside until we get the right one." Black Mage kicked angrily at the ground.

"Well, that's just stupid! Look at this place! It's over ten stories high! Do you know how many pillars could be in there?" he asked. And he did have a point, something no one could deny. But, in a weird attempt to rally the group, Red Mage devised some reversed logic.

"What if we ARE going the right way, it's just that we don't know it?" he suggested.

"That's gotta be the most _idiotic_ idea I've ever heard." Black Mage replied, "Think about this. If we are hypothetically going the right way, where are the other pillars? RM, your theory lacks logic in almost every sense... wait, YOU lack logic in almost every sense. I say we just go back and get to that room again." With that, Black Mage walked up the stone steps back into the castle, the others at his heels. It took quite a while to reach the top. The halls twisted and turned, and some of them even looped on each other. But eventually the group reached the top.

"Finally! Soon, the Rat Tail is gonna be ours!" Thief cheered happily, walking to the door. He failed to see a bone on the ground and cracked it to pieces, snapping Kary's attention immediately. She slithered to the bone and sniffed it.

"Thief, stop!" she yelled, "You're going to wake up the Zombie Dragon!" But she was too late. As Thief stepped past the second bone, a huge skeleton of a dragon emerged out of the floor and roared so loudly that the walls crumbled a little.

"_WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?_" Black Mage asked, as the five pressed against the wall.

"That's the Zombie Dragon, guardian of this castle." Kary explained, "I've heard rumors of him, but I never thought he actually existed." White Mage glanced over at Kary.

"So how do we beat it?" she asked, panicked. The dragon growled.

"You cannot do such a task." he grumbled, "It is thy nature to die at the hands of dragons. Thou shalt have thought of thy danger before entering the castle." Even Black Mage was slightly put off by the large beast. Kary stepped forward.

"I'm not sure what you'll do after this, but we need that tail. I'll fight him off, and you go get it." Kary said.

"B-but Kary!" White Mage pleaded, but Kary didn't give her time to protest.

"Go!" Kary ordered, pushing the four ahead as she took out her swords. The warriors ran past the dragon as he advanced on Kary and closed the door in the Rat room. Black Mage walked up to the pillar and grabbed the large, but skinny Rat Tail off the pedestal.

"I got it. How's Kary doing?" he asked. But judging by the looks on both Red and White Mages' faces, it wasn't going well outside. He stood near the door and listened, hearing distinctly the conversation the dragon made.

"Kary, you are foolish to think you could stop me so easily." the dragon growled softly, "Why would you help those you were forced to destroy?" Kary looked down sadly.

"I will not be used like a doll anymore. Those four are the chosen ones, and I will do what I can to set us all free of Chaos's control." she replied, "And because I feel like helping."

"Hmm, you are really doing this for yourself. Such a selfish cause. But it matters not, your motivation, for now I have no choice but to kill the fiend of Fire here and now." the dragon grumbled, "You were raised on the bias of evil, to kill and slaughter without question. You've broken such rules, and I must put an end to you." He took a lumbering step forward, but Kary looked completely unfazed.

"And you're a fool thinking I won't try anything to stop you." Kary replied, and with a flick of her arms, imploded the entire room. The four warriors could feel the heat emitted from the door, and when it died down, didn't hesitate to rush through it. Kary laid on the ground, her arms in a heap and her skin pale.

"Kary!" Red Mage screamed, and ran to her side and knelt down. She looked at him and smiled weakly. She didn't look like she'd survive.

"I'm sorry, everyone... our adventures together are going to be cut short. I will not survive from my own attack..." she said slowly, although her smile didn't fade.

"Kary..." Tears formed in White Mage's eyes. With another hand, Kary held White Mage's hands.

"Listen... now you must go to the Ice Cavern and get the Floater for the ancient airship... that'll get you to Cardia Islands, where Bahamut awaits you all..." she explained, "Go to Crescent and ask the people about it. I'm sure the sages know something..." With that, Kary closed her eyes and didn't open them again. Red Mage felt her pulse die down.

"Kary? Kary? _KARY!_" White Mage cried, and hugged Red Mage, "Kary... she's dead. Why? Why did she have to die?" Even Black Mage was upset with the loss of a friend. But he had to be the one to start the adventures again.

"I know it's sad, but we can't stay here moping about it. Kary wouldn't want that." he said, "She told us where to go so we could fulfill her wish. To kill Chaos. So, if we have any love for her, despite her being a fiend, we should fulfill that wish and hightail it to Crescent." Red Mage dried his tears and stood up, a serious look carved on his face.

"BM is right. It's the least we can do for what Kary's done for us." he said, "Let's go to Crescent now. We may be leaving her body, but her memory will be carved in our brains for quite some time." With that, he led his friends towards a "wrong" pillar and teleported outside. The four strolled across the fields, with more determination than ever.

"Kary, your wish WILL be carried out!"

---

Oh no! The heroes lost their best ally! But now they must hurry if they want to obtain their new powers. Do the sages in Crescent know anything? Is the Floater still in the Ice Cavern? Is Bahamut waiting? And what about the progress in Cherry Town? Find out the answers to these questions next chapter, so click that Review button!


	19. Walking around in a Winter Wonderland!

Time for another crazy chapter for our Light Warriors! But first... (opens bag) JTS, thanks for the encouragement! Actually, I am in the process of writing my own original story. That's why I'm so slow with the fanfics! Tears of Light, who knows? It seems Square is making cults for Cid and Bahamut. Anyway, I don't own FF or 8-bit!

---

Cyan's contribution to the team really did a number as trees, shrubs, and bricks were carried within 50-mile radiuses. Hardly anyone complained at all, though it was mostly through the fact no one could understand what Cyan was saying.

"Thou art so slow with thy wood for thee house!" Cyan yelled as Cecil dropped a large log for the third time. He stormed up to the frightened paladin while screaming more poorly used Old English phrases. Firion looked at Black Belt.

"What is that guy yelling about?" Firion asked, as Cyan bopped Cecil on the head with a stick.

"I don't know. Maybe he's mad we cut down so many trees. I mean, just look." Black Belt replied, pointing to the vast wasteland that USED to be a grove of burnt trees, "Sure, they were dead, but I think we did better with them there." Firion nodded.

"Yeah, didn't you notice how Leon and Auron starting hacking as soon as we cleared the western corner of every twig, branch, and leaf we found?" Firion asked, "What was THAT about?" Black Belt looked over as Sabin had rushed over to stop Cyan's ranting.

"Who knows? At least we're getting the job done, Firion." Black Belt replied, then looked down, "Firion? Are you okay?" Little did Black Belt know that Firion died from loss of fresh oxygen, thanks to the lack of trees, dead or not.

---

Once again, our heroes were set out for Crescent Isle. But this time, the ride was neither cheerful or ridiculous. Kary's death had shaken everyone, and they knew the time for play was over. Unfortunately, to ensure that they kept the serious attitude, Black Mage voted himself the designated driver.

"BM, are you _sure_ we're allowed to drive like this? Isn't this technically against the code of heroes?" Thief asked as Black Mage projected the boat in the air thanks to his Fire3. The boat flew past the flames of burning land as the Fire3 spell successfully burned the strip of an island away, leaving a clean path for later ventures.

"Who cares how we're allowed to drive!" Black Mage spat, steering sharply, "The point is, we have to get to that damn cave and get all-powerful before we fight the next two fiends. That way, we can kick Kraken's ass and move on." White Mage held onto the railing as Black Mage veered sharply to the left to avoid a school of sahagins swimming in a circle.

"Even so, I'd rather us be alive when we get to Crescent Isle. At this rate, we might be dead!" White Mage exclaimed, as Red Mage nearly fell overboard. She grabbed him quickly and pulled him up. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to catch Thief, who fell right in.

"AAAAHH! Help! I can't swim!" Thief sputtered through the currents, struggling and splashing about. Black Mage laughed a little. Red Mage through a life-saver into the sea, but it merely bounced off of Thief's head, knocking his lights out. White Mage glared at Red Mage, then turned to Black Mage.

"BM, you have to help him! He could die!" she cried, waving her arms at her slowly-drowning friend. Black Mage sighed and shook his head.

"That was kind of the point." he replied tiredly, and then saw White Mage crying a little, "Oh, fine! I'll help the little idiot." With that, Black Mage slammed the brakes to the ship on. He stormed over to the side of the ship just in time to see the sahagins holding Thief up. "Hey, give him back, losers. You can't eat him."

"Eat him? Why on earth would we do _that_?" one of the sahagins asked, disgusted with the thought, "We were going to get him back up! Heavens, we'd NEVER eat a human!" Another sahagin turned to the first.

"What about that guy near the old dock? We ate him!" the second hissed. The first sahagin smiled nervously.

"That one was an accident." he said quickly, noting the worried looks on White and Red Mage's faces, "Rest assured we RARELY eat anyone. Anyway, here you go. We're sorry for the misunderstanding." Black Mage rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"There was no "misunderstanding," but you should be sorry. It's your fault in the first place!" Black Mage exclaimed angrily, shaking a fist, "Why were you all swimming in a circle like retards, anyway?" The first sahagin looked at his brethren, and they all nodded and whispered things to each other. The first one nodded and turned back to the warriors.

"We're practicing our synchronized water dancing for the annual Water Pageant Kraken throws every year." the sahagin replied, as the others nodded. Black Mage snorted with a mocking laugh and wiped his forehead.

"Synchronized water dancing... Nice." he mumbled, walking back to the steering wheel, then he realized something, "Wait, who's holding the Pageant?"

"Kraken is. He has been for the past 200 years." A sahagin replied, "Anyway, we'd love to chat, but we have training to do! Good luck, folks!" With that, the group of sahagins dove into the water and swam away. Everyone, with the exception of Thief, stared at where the sahagins once were in disbelief.

"Kraken throwing a pageant? Do you think he's the same guy as the fiend we're supposed to kill?" Red Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. Black Mage slumped into a deck chair, and he looked a bit worn out from the oddness of their experience.

"I don't know what to think." Black Mage sighed, "I do think the fiends seemed to have lost whatever minds they had. Did anyone but me notice that?" White Mage agreed while laying Thief on a blanket.

"We have. But maybe it isn't the same person. I've heard that some people like to give themselves really odd names to add some pizzazz to whatever they do. Just think of Guns 'N Roses." White Mage replied, sitting down next to Black Mage and opening a newsletter on current events in Pravoca. Red Mage walked over to the wheel and took hold.

"Well, we'll never know just sitting here talking about it." he said, and moving the boat forward. Black Mage looked at him for a second, unable to find a description for the scene he was watching as Red Mage steered the ship across the seas. Finally, he managed a snide remark.

"Great, the idiots succeeding the morons. Next thing we know, we'll end up in Mexico while it's Mardi Gras..." Black Mage mumbled, as the ship moved through the waters. Thanks to Red Mage's suave navigation, or maybe because of the lack of land thanks to Black Mage's Fire3, the group reached Crescent Isle before they knew it. In fact, Thief was still out by the time they docked near the town.

"BM, wait up! Shouldn't we bring Thief?" Red Mage asked as he climbed out of the ship. Black Mage had gone ahead a bit, trying to take advantage of his friend's mishap to get away from the others as quickly as possible. But he somehow found himself answering Red Mage's question as he skidded to a halt and turned around.

"No, we'll get the info more quickly without the idiot to lag behind!" he snapped, and began to walk into the town again. Red Mage simply shrugged and, with White Mage, ran to keep up with Black Mage. He nearly smashed into a tree as Black Mage made a sharp turn around a corner to a secret path towards the Circle of Sages. The eldest of the sages looked at Black Mage.

"Ah, you warriors have returned. I suspect all went well?" he asked. Black Mage shivered as he stared into the sage's beady eyes.

"Yeah, it went fine." Black Mage replied impatiently, conveniently forgetting to tell them what Kary had said or that she had joined their side at all. The second sage peered at the small group through his glasses.

"Oh, but were there not four of you? What happened to the young thief?" he asked with an eerily squeaky voice. Red Mage was about to explain when Black Mage covered his mouth.

"He's sleeping." he replied bluntly, then hissed at Red Mage, "If they don't know about these cracked-up monsters, we can go faster." But Red Mage was struggling to point behind Black Mage. Black Mage turned around again and nearly screamed. Thief was standing there, still soaking wet, but alive and well.

"Hey guys! Did I miss the party?" he asked. The sages all chuckled and nodded with approval, and Thief stood next to Red Mage. The eldest sage coughed and stepped forward.

"Within any rate, it appears you have defeated Kary. The volcano gave a mighty surge, but we've felt no disturbance since then." he said, smoothing out his robes, "Therefore we have some more information to reach Kraken, demon of the seas."

"Let me guess, he lives in a sealed temple only skilled warriors can go into, and we need some freakin' dragon to help us get that power." Black Mage sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. White Mage glanced at him nervously, and the sages seemed more than astonished at the news. They all whispered and murmured nervous conversations, but the elder found the tongue to speak again.

"Yes. Yes, that is right." he explained, "But to find the dragon, Bahamut, you need the airship." Thief tilted his head in confusion.

"So where's the airship?" he asked.

"It is in the desert just southwest of here, but you must get the Floater, or more commonly known, the Levistone, from the Ice Cavern." the eldest sage spoke, "But as you know, it is in unreachable territory." Black Mage smacked his forehead.

"So then how will we get it?" he asked angrily, trying to resist the urge to burn every single sage in the circle. The elder sage stepped back.

"We can teleport you there to retrieve the stone, and hold the circle so you can come back." the sage replied, "Now, please, step into the circle." With that, the four warriors walked into the small glowing circle as the sages mumbled and chanted spells. Suddenly the circle flared up, and everyone felt the sensation that they were being pulled into a different world. Within seconds, they vanished out of Crescent and ended up on a small platform outside a cave.

"W-where are we?" White Mage asked, shivering from the sudden cold. She looked up and realized it was snowing out. Red Mage gave her his cape as he explained his thought.

"It's obvious we're in front of the Ice Cavern." he said, "I guess the spell worked then."

"Yeah, now let's hope we can get back." Black Mage mumbled angrily, walking up to the frozen doors, "RM, shall we combine our Fire spells?" Red Mage nodded, and immediately, the two mages pooled their power to create a large fireball to blast down the doors. But instead, all that happened was that the doors thawed. Red Mage carefully walked up and pulled the doors opened, and walked inside. The other three followed.

"Whoa, so this is what it looks like..." Thief said in awe. Black Mage, however, wasn't too impressed as he walked down the frozen stairs with care.

"You're surprised? What did you think we'd see other than ice? A party?" he asked, looking into a very detailed ice sculpture. White Mage chuckled.

"With these monsters, you never really know." she reminded, smiling warmly.

"Well, if there IS a party, we shouldn't miss it!" Thief said, and foolishly jumped down the stairs, forgetting everything was frozen solid. He slipped on the ground and slid across the ice, colliding with another sculpture. A loud BOOM signaled that he managed to get buried in snow.

"Don't worry, I'm okay!" Thief called from under the snow as Red and White Mage skated over to find him. Black Mage, on the other hand, was too busy laughing his butt off until another thing of snow fell on his head. When he wiped it off, he saw Red Mage was the one who conjured the snow at him.

"So, playing rough, eh?" Black Mage asked as he hurled an ice ball at Red Mage. Red Mage got hit square in the face and fell into the pile of snow, making Black Mage roar with laughter. White Mage decided to end their feud.

"Enough!" she called, "I admit this is cheerful, but we need to hurry up on getting the stone!" Gently, she tapped Red and Black Mage on their heads with her staff and set about carefully skating down the hall. Red Mage and Thief followed, but Black Mage rubbed his head for a minute before moving.

"Does she have to be such a wench?" Black Mage asked, getting up off the ground and following his friends, mumbling the entire way. Thankfully, going through the halls of the cavern wasn't as hard if they kept their balance as they slid through. But as the group made their way down the steps into the lower hall, they saw their obstacle.

"Aw man, is this one of those places where we'll need a plan to get through?" Thief cried, throwing his hands up in frustration as cracks and splinters of ice stood before the befuddled quartet. Red Mage tilted his head, and walked onto the last step carefully.

"Maybe not. The ice might be thick enough to support our weights." he replied, and draw his sword. Very gently, he poked at a nearby crack, testing how hard he could go. To his surprise, the ice shattered immediately with very little force, spraying him with tiny icicles. He jumped back in shock, "I stand corrected."

"Out of my way, _peon_." Black Mage commanded, and pushed Red Mage to the side. He looked hard at the ice, as if maybe getting into a staring contest with it until he finally said, "There's an easy solution to it. Make it thicker." With that, he began to cast Ice2 on the floor, focusing all his energy into one shot. But, as with Red Mage, all that happened was that the ice shattered again, sending even more icicles cascading down on the warriors.

"Nice shot." Red Mage sneered. Black Mage gave him a death glare as White Mage examined the ice next. There was almost no floor left, instead it showed the floor below. White Mage looked across to the other side of the room. There was nothing over there except a chest, and a ghoul sleeping next to it, magazine in hand.

"It's pretty obvious that we're supposed to hop down." White Mage stated plainly, "Just look. All that's up farther is a chest guarded by a monster." Black Mage squinted his eyes to look and saw she was right. But that didn't convince him to risk potential suicide.

"But what if there's another way?" he asked. Red Mage peered around the room, scanning everything for another way out. But, he didn't find one.

"There's no other way." he replied, shaking his head.

"Fine. But either you or Thief is going first." Black Mage mumbled. Thief, who had only been listening to Red Mage, jumped down into the hole and landed with a thud on the floor below. Black Mage turned around to look as a loud crack signified Thief landed.

"Thief, are you okay?" Red Mage asked, jumping down to help his friend. Thief, however, just got up and dusted himself off.

"I'm fine. White Mage, come on! Are you and BM coming?" Thief called. White Mage didn't answer, instead she jumped after Red Mage, and he caught her as she fell. Huffing with boredom, Black Mage brought up the rear and landed on his feet.

"Okay, so now where do we go?" Black Mage asked, smoothing out his crinkling robe. Red Mage put White Mage down and assumed the leader's position again. He walked around the room, looking and feeling for a secret passage. Finally, he found a switch to the door and it burst open.

"I guess we just go in here." he said, walking down the hall. The others followed quietly. They tried to be as gentle as possible on the ice, as they didn't want to make noises and wake anything up. But that soon became impossible as Thief once again slipped on the ice.

"Guys! HELP!" he screamed as he slid down the path. He grabbed Red Mage's cloak by accident and pulled him down too. Red Mage, in total surprise, drew his sword to cut himself free. But as he was pulled down, the sword fell out of his hands and landed right near Black Mage, who jumped and accidentally cast a Bolt2 spell on something unseen. White Mage cowered behind Black Mage as the thing woke up.

"Who dares to cast that?" it said with a raspy voice, getting up. Thief and Red Mage, who'd finally crashed into a wall, said absolutely nothing. Black Mage was about the only one who wasn't afraid.

"That was me, pops." he replied, casually, "But I'd like to say Dumb and Dumber over there started it when they decided to play ice football instead of focusing on this stupid cave." The thing walked over to the two scared warriors, and it turned out to be a Wizard. Or, more likely, a Wizard in a purple robe.

"Hmm... you wouldn't happen to be the warriors who rid my cousins of the Crown, would you?" he asked, and everyone seemed a little less afraid. Thief nodded.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, and brought out the Crown, as they still had it from Astos, "Did you want it? Here, take it! Just let us go free." The Wizard-like creature sniffed the Crown, and gave an old-man kind of chuckle.

"No, no. You see, my cousins, the Wizards, sent me a message saying that you all helped them to get rid of that piece of junk. They told me to help you if you came this way." he said, all the while the four warriors stared in disbelief, mouths agape, "So, what is it you need? Why are you here?" It took Red Mage a minute to recover, but he found his voice.

"Well... er... we heard the Levistone was held here, and we need it to get an airship." he replied, retrieving his sword from the ice. The Wizard-like creature thought about what he said for a minute before replying.

"Ah yes! The Floater! Yes, I shall take you to it." he said, clapping his hands... er... tentacles together, "But be warned that the Evil Eye guards the stone. While we were hoping to give it to someone in the future, it's grown rather senile and paranoid in its old age." Black Mage laughed hysterically at what the Wizard was saying.

"Oh please, what can a curse possibly do to us?" he asked, slapping his knee. The Wizard, and Red Mage, looked at him seriously.

"The Evil Eye is no curse, boy. It's lived for hundreds of thousands of years, guarding that stone like a hawk guards its food." the Wizard snapped, instantly shutting Black Mage up. Red Mage pulled out a Highlights Magazine and held up a picture of what looked like a large rock with an eye in the center.

"That, and it has the power to kill the unworthy almost instantly!" Red Mage added, "BM, I wouldn't take this thing so lightly." Thief shivered.

"Can't you just tell it that we need the stone?" Thief asked nervously. The Wizard shook his head.

"Afraid not, boy. It won't listen to me, thinks I'm out to get it now. That's why I built the room all around it, so it doesn't hurt what it can't see." the Wizard replied, "It won't leave its post, but it puts up a hell of a fight if you go near it."

"So then we have to fight it for the stone?" White Mage asked. The Wizard nodded wisely. But Black Mage still wasn't fazed by such a story. He stormed up to a door.

"You all are sissies! I don't get what the big deal is! It's just a stupid eye! All we have to do is poke it with a stick and it'll pop!" Black Mage whined, throwing his hands up in frantic poking motions. The Wizard chuckled.

"Well, if you're so confident, then let's get going." he said, and tapped his staff on the ground. The door behind Black Mage opened, and the Wizard waddled in, followed by the warriors. It began to grow steadily colder as they walked deeper into the halls, and it was darker now too, as the torches of light were soon replaced by shining gems of black and purple. Thief looked to the left as they passed a staircase and tapped the Wizard on the shoulder.

"What about there?" Thief asked, pointing to the stairs.

"No, we mustn't go there. That is a shortcut to the outside. _THIS_ is where we need to go." The Wizard said, and stopped at a pair of huge stone doors. Symbols of an ancient language blazed on them, making even Black Mage sigh with awe. As they looked at the door, the four could feel waves of magical energies flowing through them.

"So, the eye's in here?" Red Mage asked. The Wizard nodded and touched the doorway. It slowly opened up as he turned to look at the warriors.

"Beware, for in here will be a beast unlike any other. Prepare to meet the Eye!"

---

Hooray! This story is officially half done! Anyway, our heroes made it through the Ice Cavern for the most part, but what awaits them in the room they must enter? Is the Evil Eye as bad as the Wizard claims? Is it just for drama? Can the four retrieve the Levistone? And did everyone in Cherry Town die? Find out next chapter, so click that Review Button!


	20. An appreciation to all types of weather!

DISCLAIMER: I need one now since FF. net's new rule... I don't own FF or 8-bit, but I own the right to be very upset with FF. net

---

"Wow! I can't believe it, but we're nearly done!" Sabin boasted as Cyan slipped the roof onto the house, "Cyan really helped us out, BB. I mean, really!"

"Great! So, how many houses did we manage to build within the week?" Black Belt asked, as he dragged Firion into a small grave he'd dug. Sabin's smile grew even bigger as he spoke.

"One! We finally built one!" he replied happily. Black Belt's eyes narrowed.

"That's it?" he hissed, "That's all we have? We've been working for over a month on this and we only have one house?" Sabin's smile faded and a dumbfounded look replaced it.

"But we have a place to sleep, even if it cost us most of our men." Sabin said, "I think it's a reason to celebrate!" Black Belt looked over towards the distant mountains.

"We could, but we still have to find Fighter, and then rebuild the rest of this place. And more importantly, we need to hire more staff." Black Belt said, "I'll go look for Fighter. Can you find anyone who'll help us?" Sabin nodded.

"Leave it to me!" he exclaimed. Black Belt ran off, and Sabin took out a little phonebook from his pocket while walking to the small payphone Cecil had built before his untimely demise with a log accident. "Well, here goes nothing!" Sabin said as he picked up the receiver and dialed a number...

---

In the Ice Cavern, the four heroes walked carefully into the large room where the Wizard had urged them to go. His warning of the Eye echoed in everyone's ears, and the dim lights and low temperatures of the room didn't make it any better. Thief walked into the center of the room.

"Hello? Is there anything in here?" he asked, and got no response, "Hmm.. do you think maybe it died?"

"It might be possible. The thing's been in here for who knows how long." Black Mage shrugged, leaning against a wall. Red Mage looked across the walls for some explanation as to the Eye, but the walls were either completely blank or frosted over.

"Even if it died, we would've found a body." Red Mage said, "I think it's alive somehow." It was then that something really tiny was glowing on the floor near Black Mage. And, it attracted his attention.

"What the hell do you think this is?" Black Mage asked, picking it up. The others ran over to see it too. It was a small, glossy ball, though it looked like it was able to be opened. Black Mage tried to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"RM, can you see what it is?" White Mage asked. Red Mage took out his guide and flipped through it, only to close it quietly.

"There's nothing in there about it." He replied. Thief took the ball out of Black Mage's hand.

"Maybe some force will get it opened!" he suggested, and threw the ball as hard as he could against the opposing wall. The ball gave a mighty crack and fell on the floor. Thief went to take a look at what he'd done, only to fall backwards as the ball opened to reveal that it was an eye. And the voice that boomed from it was not a light one.

"Who dares to wake me up from my slumber?" the eye boomed angrily, eyeing the warriors with suspicion.

"Whoa! That thing talks?" Thief asked, amazed. The eye cleared his throat indignantly, and rolled to the middle of the floor.

"I am not a "thing!" I am the Evil Eye! And, if you are here for the Levistone, forget it! It's mine and I'll turn you to stone for it!" it said, which only made Black Mage laugh.

"You? The Evil Eye? Ha! Don't make me laugh, you're just a pipsqueak!" Black Mage cried with laughter. He was even moved to tears as he rolled along the floor. The eye huffed.

"So, this form isn't intimidating enough, is it? Then how about a more suitable one?" The eye asked, as it grew nearly one hundred times its size. A thick smoke began to fill the room, which bothered everyone except Black Mage.

"Oh. So you grew a little. Big deal! You're still a shrimp." Black Mage said, as he began to laugh. But just as the first "ha" came out, the Eye shot a beam and turned Black Mage to stone.

"Mmmph! MRRRF!" Black Mage mumbled from inside his stony prison.

"Sorry, but I tried to warn you. I'm not to be underestimated." the eye said simply. Red Mage raised his eyebrow as he thought the eye sounded much more confident than it really should've been. Feeling he was most suited to this situation, Red Mage began to put all his diplomatic training to use.

"And we don't underestimate you. We just need the Levistone." Red Mage explained in the most polite tone he could. The Eye eyed him suspiciously, and scurried over to him with exceptional speed for an organ that should never move.

"And that's the very stone I've been guarding for my life! I shall not give it up!" it cried, throwing wisps of air up in frustration. A sudden and thoughtful silence filled the air as everyone remembered what the Wizard-creature told them.

"_It's been getting too old, it attacks anyone who mentions the stone. It's getting senile._" the Wizard had said. Somehow, White Mage felt this was the key to their victory. Very cautiously, she walked up to the Eye.

"Um... Mr. Eye..." White Mage began.

"That's Mr. _Evil_ Eye." the eye corrected.

"Right. Sorry. What exactly do you have to guard the stone from? Is there any reason?" she asked. This made the Eye think as he rolled around, trying to find the answer in his head. After a few minutes, he came up with nothing.

"You know, now that you think about it, I can't remember why I had to guard it!" the Eye exclaimed, "Maybe it had something to do with sheep, but I can't remember." Everyone shared skeptical glances as the Eye continued to ponder his self-proclaimed missions of protecting the stone. Black Mage even struggled to get free.

"Mmmmph!" he mumbled again. The Eye looked at his statue grumpily.

"Oh, will someone cure him? I can't understand a word he's saying!" it exclaimed in a huff. Obviously, it had completely forgotten that it was the one who imprisoned Black Mage in the first place.

"MMMMMPH!" Black Mage tried screaming, but this only made the Eye sigh.

"I can't hear you! SOFT!" The eye huffed again, and soon Black Mage returned to his smart-assed self.

"Finally, you stupid retina! I was _saying_ that if you can't remember, just give the stupid stone to us and let us be on our way." Black Mage hissed, annoyed with his situation. The Eye looked thoughtful again, and scratched itself with a wispy hand.

"I suppose there's no harm in giving you the stone... are you all with the ETP?" the Eye asked, looking at the four skeptically. A sweatdrop rolled down Black Mage's head.

"No! We don't even know what ETP is! Just give us the damn stone before I take it and chuck it at your big, stupid, glossy head!" Black Mage threatened, but it didn't do much to move the Eye.

"I'd like to see you... uh..." the Eye, however confident, looked extremely confused now, "What was I doing again?" White and Red Mage just looked at each other, but Black Mage found this to be a perfect opportunity.

"You were about to give us the stone like we asked, because we're certainly not going to kill you when we leave." Black Mage said, with an evil grin. Thief also took the opportunity.

"AND you were going to let us take whatever we wanted in the treasury!" he added happily. The Eye shrugged as well as an eye could, and opened the door behind him.

"Then, by all means, younguns! Take everything like I said!" he said cheerfully. Black Mage snorted as he took the stone, and everything else he found of value. He stalked out behind White, Red Mage, and Thief as the Eye gave a hearty wave goodbye. When they'd closed the doors to the room, they found the Wizard-creature waiting for them.

"Did you get it?" he asked, nervously, "I do hope he wasn't..."

"Relax, old man! We got it!" Thief exclaimed reassuringly, showing the Wizard the stone. Black Mage felt it best not to tell him they'd cleared the treasury too. The Wizard examined the stone, and handed it back, amazed.

"Wonderful! I don't know how you got the Eye to let go of it, but you did! Good job! Now, if you'll take those stairs, it'll lead to the outside world! Good luck!" the Wizard said, just as cheerfully as the Eye spoke. The four walked up the staircase he'd indicated, but just before he warped out, Black Mage made sure to set off a Fire3 spell, melting all of the ice and completely destroying the Ice Cavern as they climbed into the canoe.

"What was that?" White Mage asked as she heard screams of utter torment coming from the cave. Black Mage smiled cheesily.

"Um... It was probably the Eye tripping on a rock! You know how senile he is! He could mistake it for a cave-in... or a fire..." Black Mage replied suspiciously, slinking into a chair. Thief shrugged and turned back to the ores, rowing the way they'd come.

"I just hope they're okay. I think I smelled burning limestone back there." he stated, a hint of worry in his voice. Black Mage opened his mouth to scream something, then quickly decided it best not to arouse anyone's suspicions, mainly because he knew they'd throw him off if they knew what happened. Instead he looked over the sky.

"So, how long until we get back to Crescent, Thief?" he asked, a bit more cheerfully than he actually intended.

"About one to three hours depending on if we get lost." White Mage answered, "You sound awfully cheerful, BM. What innocent creatures did you subject to torture?" Black Mage choked back a curse as he realized White Mage was indeed suspicious of him. He quickly tried to cover it up.

"I didn't kill anything! It's just... such a nice day!" Black Mage lied.

"And when are you one to comment on the loveliness of the weather?" Red Mage asked, just as skeptical as White Mage. Black Mage secretly wondered if he had either leveled up a ton or drank a Sudden IQ capsule. He seemed to be getting smarter, and Black Mage hated that almost as much as he hated Red Mage himself.

"Is it so wrong to enjoy the lovely mountain air once in a while?" Black Mage asked. Despite that the four were nowhere near any mountains anymore, everyone agreed with Black Mage's point, and nothing more was questioned until they'd reached Crescent. When they went to the Circle of Sages, no one was happy to see them.

"What are you all doing here?" the first sage questioned immediately, "You need to get to the desert southwest of here! Time is of the essence!"

"Wait a sec, gramps. There's no way to go except for through a swamp, and I hate swimming. Can't you use your magic to teleport us there?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no, these things one must experience for themselves. Get going." The sage replied, and with that, the four were urged out of town and soon canoeing through a short river leading southwest. Black Mage had taken to pouting and ranting as Red Mage tried to provide light against the darkness the thick trees of the swamp were creating.

"Stupid sages. I bet they can't even do card tricks!" Black Mage grumbled, slapping some water in fury.

"Relax! It could be worse." Thief said, unaware that Black Mage was glaring at him. If looks could've killed, Thief would've been dead.

"Oh yeah? How?" Black Mage asked sarcastically, "We're going through a dirty swamp, about to cross a desert filled with who-knows-what, and then we're going to speak to a dragon _god_! How in the seven levels of hell can it be worse?" White Mage sighed with boredom as she flipped a page of her book.

"We could be poisoned, we could have diseases, we could be with Garland..." White Mage listed countless perils they _could_ face. But none of it moved Black Mage. In fact, it made him all the more annoyed.

"Enough, woman! I get the point!" Black Mage roared, and then slumped back to his chair, "Man, I really hate this quest. I can remember when we took this job for some simple money."

"Yeah, but now we're out saving the world! What could be better than that!" Thief exclaimed. However, he'd been paying so much attention to the conversation that he forgot about the canoe, and it crashed into a well-place rock. The four flew out into the water.

"Being dry is better than that right now..." Red Mage commented, wringing out his soaked hat. Black Mage spat out a ton of salt water, and White Mage shivered as she climbed onto a rock. Black Mage was about to blow something up until he looked around, and for the first time since back in Corneria, he was actually afraid.

"G-guys?" he asked, shivering as he saw the dark trees and the murky water, "Where are we?"

"We must be in the swamp just before the desert." Red Mage replied, looking at his map, "We'd better be careful. This place gets dangerous at night. But on a bright side, at least we're near the desert!" Thief and White Mage tried to smile at such news, but Black Mage didn't even pretend to be relieved.

"Bright side? You're assuming we're even going to live through this!" Black Mage began to pace nervously through the murky swampwater, "Oh man, I wanna go home! I want my mommy." Obviously, this wasn't a sight the other three were used to, and they all looked at each other as Black Mage began to rock back and forth. Finally, White Mage slapped Black Mage.

"Snap out of it! We'll be fine!" White Mage said, "Look, we're already a good deal into the swamp. Maybe we're close to the exit. So pull yourself together!" Black Mage straightened up, and his expression was a sour one as his three friends began to trudge ahead through the swamp. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he trudged through after them, trying to keep as quiet as he could. That proved more difficult than he thought, because he kept hearing rustling, creaking, croaking, and squirming sounds with every step he took.

"Are we out yet?" he finally asked, pulling on his hat. His sudden outburst made everyone else jump.

"Do we look like we're out yet?" White Mage hissed, "Keep quiet and follow us!" She turned around sharply and slogged a little faster to catch up with Thief and Red Mage. Black Mage pretended to zip his mouth shut, and continued forward until another noise caused him to rush up and slam into Red Mage.

"Didn't you guys hear that?" he asked, panicked. He shivered and started to bite his nails, "We have to get out! This place is haunted!"

"Black Mage, relax! The exit's..." Before Thief could finish, Black Mage bolted forward, "BM, WAIT!" The other three ran ahead quickly, hoping not to lose their fearful friend. They ran up the dirt slope only to trip over Black Mage, who was sprawled out. Apparently, he also slipped on a rock. Thief rubbed his head and looked around. The dark trees and cold air were behind them, and what greeted them was warm desert sand.

"Hey! I think we made it!" he yelled happily, "I think this is the desert!"

"Good. That swamp smelled as bad as we do." Black Mage said, dusting off his sand-covered robe. He walked a little more into the desert and placed his hands on his hips, "RM, where do we put the Levistone? Let's do this before something comes to eat us."

"I don't know. The sages never said _where_ exactly to bring the stone. But maybe we should try the middle." Red Mage suggested. The four walked through the desert, towards the middle, or as middle as Red Mage could guess. He brought out the shining Levistone, and placed it on the ground. A storm started for a minute, but died down a second later.

"Maybe we're not doing this right..." White Mage said quietly.

"I knew this was a wild chase! We never should've listened to Kary!" Black Mage growled, kicking the sand. Suddenly, he was thrown back as the ground rumbled angrily. Thunder flashed, and something huge began to emerge from the sands.

"What is that?" Thief asked, as he moved backwards a little. Red Mage shielded his eyes to try and get a glimpse, but he could barely see through the sandstorm. It looked like a ship.

"Is... is that the ship?" White Mage asked, as the entire ship was now in view. Sand spilled off of the deck, through the windows, and out from the sails.

"It's huge..." Red Mage said, looking the ship up and down with awe.

"Think it works?" Thief asked, as the last bits of sand fell out, leaving a majestic view of an ancient ship. But somehow, it didn't seem to be a happy view at all. Red Mage looked at it sadly, and touched the woodwork.

"RM, are you okay?" Black Mage asked. Red Mage continued to stare at the ship for a minute. Then he turned around, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"This... this was my father's ship." he replied, "The Highwind. I barely remember it, but I know this is it... but does this mean.. my dad's still out there?" White Mage looked down, and Thief was thinking about something. Black Mage placed a hand on Red Mage's shoulder.

"Your dad was a warrior?" he asked. Red Mage nodded.

"Yeah. He's why I'm a Red Mage. I always wanted to be as strong as him... but he left when I was little." Red Mage replied, looking at the ship nostalgically, "I thought.. maybe I could ride the Highwind someday." Thief smiled.

"Well, today's the day." he said proudly, a tear coming down his face, "Today you'll sail like your dad did. And who knows, maybe we'll find him."

"We'll even look when this is through." Black Mage said, "And I won't bitch about it too much." Everyone laughed at the remark, and Red Mage jumped onto the ramp leading to the deck.

"All right, then! Friends, the time for talk is over. It's time to go see Bahamut... and for me to finally grow up like my father wanted...

---

Yes! Our heroes finally got their airship! But what a twist, Red Mage's dad being the owner and all! Anyway, can they get to Bahamut on time? What powers can he bestow on them? Can he really help them defeat the remaining fiends? And will Red Mage be able to find his father? Find out on the next chapter, so click that Review button!


	21. Growing up and learning new things!

DISCLAIMER: One day, I will work for Squaresoft. So, will this mean I own Final Fantasy?

---

Black Belt had slumped through the mountains behind Cherry Town for hours, but he somehow managed to find Fighter, though Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Fighter swore he'd gone after a yeti they found, but Black Belt was pretty sure he'd died.

"I still can't believe you got lost up here! Fighter, how could you not know you were in the mountains?" Black Belt asked, dragging Fighter down the lightly frosted path.

"Well, it's kinda hard to focus on current destinations when you're busy fighting off the elements. It's a never-ending war between us and the elements." Fighter replied, sounding uncharacteristically smart for a second. Black Belt merely rolled his eyes.

"Oh really? It sounded like you were discussing swords when you left. So, who won the war?" Black Belt asked, though he didn't really sound the least bit interested. But Fighter either didn't notice or didn't care as he answered cheerfully.

"Well, of course, the elements won. But I would've beaten them if I had some Flame Mail and the Masamune!" Fighter exclaimed proudly. Black Belt sighed until he saw something over the edge of the small cliff. It appeared to be a large crowd of people, but what really caught Black Belt's attention was that Sabin was in the middle!

"What is going on down there?" Black Belt wondered aloud, and ran down the rest of the path, dragging a bewildered Fighter with him. When he got down there, all he could do was scream, "_WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?_" Sabin put down his microphone and turned around.

"Oh, hey guys! Did you like who I invited to help us?" he asked. Fighter looked excited when he saw a blonde swordsman in front, and immediately ran to talk to him. Black Belt looked like he saw the destruction of Elfland itself.

"Sabin, who are they? And why are they all robots?" Black Belt asked.

"Well, I was lucky enough in that my old buddy X remembered me from Blitz school! So, I told him about our cause, and he said he'd bring a few friends to help!" Sabin said happily. A large sweatdrop rolled down Black Belt's head as he took another look through the large crowd.

"This is more than a few friends, you know." Black Belt mumbled, "Oh, fine. At least we have some more people here. Okay, let's get some things straight..."

---

Meanwhile, our heroes were sailing through the sky on the Highwind. Red Mage had been chosen as pilot, in honor of his father, and considering that they hadn't crashed, everyone thought he was doing a good job. Even Black Mage was in a lighter mood as he laid on the couch in what was the living room.

"I have to admit. Red Mage might be a weirdo, but his family does know how to live large. And he's a pretty good pilot." Black Mage said, as he lazily took a sip of his beverage. White Mage nodded as she read a newspaper article from a long time ago. It featured an old band named the Imp Sisters, but more importantly, it mentioned Red Mage's father.

"White Mage, what did you find?" Thief asked, noticing that White Mage had turned a bit paler. She put the article on the table so everyone could take a look.

"According to this, Red Mage might actually be descended from a genius! Look. It says right here that a warrior named Cid Highwind built this very airship and sent it in for the International Gizmo Creations contest they used to hold in Lufeinia, AND he won first prize too!" White Mage explained, excitement in her voice. Thief was very impressed, but Black Mage didn't seem to care as he rolled off the couch.

"WM, we don't even know if this is the same ship, or if that's the same guy RM was talking about." Black Mage yawned.

"But it has to be. They said he named it the Highwind, and Red Mage said his father used to own a ship named the Highwind. Do you have any better explanation?" White Mage argued insistently. Black Mage got up off the ground and stretched out.

"Yeah. It's called coincidence. Look, WM. There's too much difference in age. This guy looks only a tiny bit older than ourselves, and he doesn't even look like RM." Black Mage asked, until Thief snatched the article away.

"I know an easier way to solve this." Thief mumbled, "We just ask RM." He opened the door into the pilot's room and found Red Mage steering the ship. The sunlight blared through the windows, shining all over Red Mage. Thief thought he had a very majestic look to him.

"You look really official, RM!" Thief said cheerfully, walking into the room. Red Mage jumped a little, and turned to face Thief.

"I didn't think anyone was in here. I figured you all were talking. Is something wrong?" Red Mage asked, "If it's about Cardia Islands, we'll be there soon." Thief let go of the ornament he'd been examining and walked over to the desk, beckoning Red Mage to follow. He then slapped down the article.

"RM, is this your father?" Thief asked bluntly. Red Mage looked carefully at the article, and soon Thief saw tears form in the corner of his eyes.

"Yes. He's a bit younger in this picture, but that's definitely him. Wow..." Red Mage read through the article, a smile crossing his face, "I didn't know he won a contest for this ship! No wonder he took such good care of it." At that moment, Black and White Mage fell through the door, as they'd been leaning on it to listen. Red Mage ignored them though.

"How old was the picture?" Thief asked, tilting his head.

"This has got to be a good twenty to thirty years old." Red Mage replied, "Man, no wonder I'm good at mechanics. My dad was a legend according to this! It's a shame he's gone... he could've done some real good things..." White Mage got up and sat in the chair.

"What happened to him?" she asked. Red Mage sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Well, it happened so long ago, I can't really remember. But it had something to do with the town of Onrac. This was back when people were really talking about the fiends, not just the occasional complaints we hear now." Red Mage began, "I think my mom told me that Onrac was flooding because of the Fiend of water. Dad went to try and stop the flooding, but that was the last we ever heard from him. I don't even know if he got to Onrac."

"But if he did, maybe there are some clues as to where he went there." White Mage concluded, "And if we find him, maybe he could help us!" Red Mage didn't look so gung-ho about the idea.

"WM, it's been nearly twelve years since he disappeared. If he hasn't come home yet, where could he be? I doubt he'd still be in Onrac unless he forgot about mom and I." Red Mage replied, "But maybe we would find something there. That'd be a nice relief to know at least what happened." Black Mage took a look at the old notebook on the desk, and flipped the page with interest.

"Huh. It's a good thing Onrac is our next destination after we see the Dragon God." Black Mage said, smirking.

"What? Why is that? Why are we going to Onrac?" Thief asked, raising an eyebrow. Black Mage held up the notebook.

"I think this is some kind of log from your dad, RM. According to him, Kraken _was_ the third fiend, and we've already gotten two orbs relit. It can't be much clearer than that, can it?" Black Mage asked, as Red Mage took the notebook and read through it quickly.

"According to the last entry, he was going into the Water Shrine near Onrac..." Red Mage said, though it was more to himself than to the others, "That means he's there..." Out of concern for tears, Black Mage slowly walked out of the room, silently gesturing the other two to follow. When Thief slid out, he gently closed the door and sat down in a chair.

"Do you think RM is going to be okay?" Thief asked. White Mage had put down her magazine, but it was really Black Mage who answered.

"I don't know. I never even knew he had a father. I thought he was an orphan." Black Mage replied a tone of worry in his voice, "I just hope he can pull himself together though. I understand how he feels, but we have to be even more cautious than we already are. Honestly, the only way we won the last two orbs was because Lich was an idiot and Kary was actually on our side." White Mage looked out the window at the ocean they were currently flying over.

"I know. Kraken sounds much worse than anything we've ever faced. He flooded an entire town in a very short time." White Mage added.

"Who knows if and when he decides to do that again? Kary must've known what happened. I think that's why she told us to go to Cardia Islands." Thief stated, even though that was obvious, "But would the Dragon God really help us?" No one knew what the answer was, so for a while, the trip to Cardia was silent from that point. It wasn't until Red Mage shouted, "We're at the islands!" that the silence was broken. Red Mage had docked the ship at what looked like the biggest island of them all, and Black Mage made a point of that as the four hopped off the ship.

"I hope the Dragon God can help us." Thief said, as the group walked through the small grove of trees into a large cave. The tunnel seemed to go on and on, but thankfully there were torches so everyone could at least see where they were going. But it didn't help stop Black Mage's whining.

"Man, why can't he have a conveyor belt? Or a smaller tunnel? My feet hurt!" Black Mage complained as they came to a large, old-looking door, "Finally! It's about time we found you!" Before Red Mage could check to make sure the door wasn't trapped, Black Mage swiftly opened the door and waltzed inside. Right in the middle of the room was a dragon. He looked rather old, but his scales were a shining black. His wings shone like stained glass, and a halo was sitting above his head. He certainly looked like a god to the warriors.

"Who dares to enter the Dragon shrine?" he asked, and even though his voice echoed and reverberated off of everything, it was very gentle and without malice. White Mage knelt to the ground, and the other three followed suite.

"Dragon God, we need your help." White Mage replied, "The third Fiend is perhaps the most dangerous enemy we've faced, and we fear we haven't the strength to stop him." The dragon flapped his wings thoughtfully.

"Yes, Kraken is quite dangerous, but you are young. How do you know of the power he has?" the dragon asked, as he closed his old eyes. Thief looked up.

"Kary, the fiend of Fire, suggested we visit you. Those were her dying words." Thief answered. The dragon turned his head very quickly, as though he was in shock. But then he cleared his throat and settled back down.

"I see... yes, the fiend of Fire has wanted to put a stop to Chaos's plans. She was no fiend in her heart. I'm not surprised she would send you to me." the dragon said, "I can help you gain the power you need to defeat Kraken, young ones. But be warned, it isn't the power that dictates the victory, it is the will and hearts of the ones fighting that controls the tide of battle. This new power will do nothing if you do not have the heart for fighting for what is right."

"Trust me, we have plenty of reasons to fight Kraken." Black Mage mumbled, "So, how do we obtain this power?" The dragon huffed as he brought out a miniature dragon statue.

"I will need the tail of a rat." he said. Thief brought out the Rat's Tail and gave it to the dragon, who began to recite a spell, "Oh ancient warriors, we ask you to bestow your power and wisdom on these four youths to protect the world as you once did. We offer you the tail of the Dire Rat as a symbol of how determined these youths truly are, as a bonding rope to their vows of protection. Please deem them worthy, as I, Lord Bahamut, have." As the dragon spoke the last word, mysterious light emitted from the statue until it grew so bright that no one could see. Everyone, everything, was bathed in the warmest light they'd ever felt. Each of the warriors could feel the strength of Bahamut enter them, even as the light died down and the cave came back into vision.

"Did it work?" Thief asked, his eyes tightly shut, "I don't feel too different."

"Oh, but you are stronger. Take a look, warriors of Light. You are no longer just children." Bahamut said. The warriors opened their eyes, and were both shocked and impressed.

"I... I'm a ninja!" Thief exclaimed, checking out his new katana, "And you guys are different too!" He looked at his friends carefully. White Mage no longer had a hood, and neither did Black Mage. Red Mage, however, looked the same.

"Why didn't RM change?" Black Mage asked, trying to smooth out his messy brown hair. Red Mage looked around, embarrassed that he was no different than he was before, but Bahamut remained calm.

"Red Mage does not need to change. His heart is as strong as ever, and he knew no amount of power would truly help him in what he's searching for." Bahamut replied, "As I've said, it isn't power that dictates victory. It is will, and Red Mage already had that."

"So... you mean I will find my father?" Red Mage asked, "Do you know where he is? Do you know him?" Bahamut chuckled at Red Mage's sudden enthusiasm, but he patted Red Mage with a claw.

"I do not know your father, nor do I know what happened to him." Bahamut replied, "But I do know that Onrac, and the third fiend, have the answers you seek to your father's disappearance."

"But how do you know he disappeared if you don't know him?" White Mage asked.

"Because I am the Dragon God. I watch over everything. I have seen the past, and I can only glimpse the future that could be. Onrac, and the Water shrine, holds many secrets to many things, some of which cannot truly be understood. I am certain that you will at least find out the origins of the orbs and crystals there, and why the fiends must feed on the light." Bahamut explained, "As for your father, Red Mage, you will find the conclusion of his story. Those are the glimpses I have caught." Red Mage looked down thoughtfully, processing what Bahamut just told him. Finally, he looked up into Bahamut's eyes.

"Thank you. We will never give up the orbs, and I will never give up on my father." Red Mage said, and turned to his friends, "We should go. Onrac isn't far from here." Black Mage, who'd given up on his hair, looked shocked.

"That's it? But shouldn't we make an offering because Bahamut helped us?" Black Mage asked, and that moment showed everyone what class evolution could do. Normally, Black Mage would never offer to thank someone for their help. Bahamut laughed, seeing White Mage's shocked face.

"Saving our planet is your offering." Bahamut said, "Red Mage is right. You must hurry on. Good luck, young warriors." With that, everyone bowed and walked back out of the cave. They boarded the Highwind, and Red Mage immediately set off for the control room, leaving the other three to talk freely in the living room. Thief sat down on the couch next to White Mage, and Black Mage sat in the chair, picking up the magazine White Mage had been reading.

"BM, you do know that's a book about white magic, right?" White Mage asked. Black Mage looked over the top and nodded.

"I know. I don't understand why, but I suddenly feel the need to help the world and to learn all I can about every type of magic I find." Black Mage replied, flipping through the magazine slowly, "And I should tell you, WM, I find white magic very intriguing." Thief tugged at his hood thoughtfully.

"It must be the class changes Bahamut gave us. They must've made us more mature somehow." Thief concluded, "But does that mean we'll never be the same anymore?"

"Bahamut said that a class change can never truly change a person. Underneath it all, BM is still annoyed with this mission and I'm still praying we find the third fiend soon." White Mage said, and Black Mage put the magazine down.

"WM is right. But I think somehow the power of the ancient warriors is helping us deal with our feelings of rage or worry a bit better." Black Mage agreed, looking at a chart in the guide, "But that leads me to another question. Did we actually get any stronger? Or are we merely able to cope with our stress, which was holding our true power back?" Red Mage came out of the room as Black Mage put his thoughts into words. Quietly, he walked to a chair.

"That's a good question, BM." he replied as he sat down, "But we'll never know for sure what's really going on, and maybe that's how it should be. After all, if it wasn't for Kary, we probably wouldn't have gone to Bahamut, and thusly never known about this anyway." Black Mage seemed a but dumbstruck as he drank some tea out of a glass he'd conjured earlier. Thief suddenly realized something as he saw Red Mage sitting down.

"RM, if you're _here_, who's driving the ship?" Thief asked, and Red Mage heard his voice become shaky and nervous. Red Mage chuckled lightly.

"Calm down, Thief. I set the plane to autopilot so I could talk to you all. According to the radar, we should be in Onrac soon." Red Mage replied, and they continued to talk about the mysteries of class changing.

Soon was a bit of an understatement for how far away they were. Just as their conversation was really heating up, the Highwind had landed, signaling that they made their destination. But as soon as Black Mage hopped off to take a look around, his old self came back for a minute.

"RM, I thought you said we'd be in Onrac! This looks like a clearing." Black Mage stated, kicking a branch to the side. Red Mage walked off the ship, and it looked like he was tying part of the ship to a tree to keep it from flying off without them.

"I must've forgot to mention that the ship can only land on a meadow." Red Mage replied, taking out a map, "But not to worry. Onrac is just northeast of here, past the forests of Kan." With that, Red Mage walked into the forest as White Mage began to follow. Before following himself, Black Mage nudged Thief in the ribs.

"Let's hope he's not holding the map upside-down." Black Mage joked, and ran ahead to catch up. Inside the forest was very dark. Absolutely no sunlight could get through the nets of branches that the trees had created, so the group had to rely on Black Mage, Red Mage, and now Thief with their Fire2 spells. Thief was very shocked when he was able to throw a fireball.

"Whoa! Check it out! I can use magic now!" Thief exclaimed happily, though he didn't try to light another fireball for fear he'd accidentally burn the forest down. Red Mage smiled and jotted that down on a small notepad he kept in his pocket.

"Well, that's not something you see everyday. That's another key element in class change, I guess. The ability to use magic..." Red Mage said, putting the pad away and continuing through the forest. Soon he, and everyone else for that matter, began to notice that the ground was slowly becoming soggier and damper, and that movement was becoming increasingly difficult. Black Mage tried an Ice spell to see if that would create some footing, but the ice was quickly melted by the mud. Red Mage thought Fire might dry out the earth enough to climb onto, but it fizzled out as soon as it touched the water.

"This must be the work of Kraken." Thief growled, trying to free his katana from the muck, "We're close." He managed to pull the katana out, but he also fell into the mud by the kickback he created with his strength. Black Mage tried to pull him out, but he wasn't strong enough.

"Geez! Kraken must be more of a threat than I thought if he could manipulate water up here while he's in the ocean, in the Water Shrine." Black Mage huffed and Red and White Mage came to help. With their efforts, they managed to free Thief, who was covered in a thick blanket of mud.

"Well, at least we can take comfort in the fact that I might just be the scariest thing in this forest now!" Thief laughed, as he saw his reflection in the puddle, "So that'll save some time trying to get to Onrac." Red Mage raised an eyebrow and pointed to a short path where a small amount of light shone through. Black Mage chuckled when he saw a small house in the distance, followed by a garden and a stand. Thief mumbled something unheard as they walked out of the path towards the small house. But if they were expecting a nice town, they were mistaken as they took a closer look at the house. It was destroyed on the front, and White Mage lifted her robes as she saw that the ground was still very wet.

"So, Kraken's still at work, huh?" Black Mage asked, "Well, I guess we're going to have to find out how to get to the shrine." White Mage coughed and sat on a rock.

"Can we rest a bit? The forest took a lot out of me." White Mage sighed, wiping her forehead. Black Mage sat down without argument as Thief scraped some of the mud off of himself. Red Mage leaned against the destroyed door of the house.

"Yes, let's rest. We don't know what we'll find here, so a fresh mind is wise... I just hope Kraken doesn't strike us now..."

---

Well, we all knew this chapter would happen! Our heroes have a class change now! But are they strong enough to face Kraken? Is anyone even in Onrac to help them? And will Fighter and Black Belt even recognize them anymore? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button! And also, I won't update as quickly because of the holidays! So, Merry Christmas!


	22. Stolen goods, shrines, and ninja powers

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FF or 8-bit. For those who don't know, I am no longer allowed to respond to reviews, so I am sorry.

Black Belt marched onto a podium in the middle of the Cherry Town Square. As soon as he reached the microphone, all of the chit-chatting stopped, and Sabin, Fighter, and the rest of the crew Sabin managed to scrounge up focused on Black Belt. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know you're all wondering why you're here. Well, I'm here to answer such wonders." Black Belt said, "To make it simple, we need help restoring this town. We _used_ to have a small crew, but for whatever reason, they all just went missing. Now, before I take roll call, are there any questions?" A man in black armor and a sphinx helmet raised his hand.

"When do we get to shoot things?" he asked, grinning.

"We... we don't shoot things. We're here to build, not to destroy... someone's already done that enough around here." Black Belt replied, glaring at Fighter. The man threw his gun down.

"WHAT? But I thought this was a destruction meeting!" the man screamed. Black Belt smacked his head lightly.

"That's _CONSTRUCTION_ meeting..." he sighed.

"I'm outta here then!" the man replied, and stomped off, leaving the rest of the crowd in silence. Black Belt blinked before continuing.

"Are there any other questions?" he asked, and he sounded a bit shaken from what just happened. A blonde swordsman raised his... or was it a her... hand.

"Can I please get a restraining order on this guy? He won't leave me alone and he wants to see my sword." The person asked, as Fighter poked him and pulled his hair. Black Belt twitched slightly.

"Fighter, get away from her!" Black Belt yelled, and Fighter slumped away sadly. The person who would've needed a restraining order looked very offended though, despite being rid of Fighter.

"Who are you calling a girl? I'm no girl, you humanoid maverick!" he yelled, drawing his sword and charging toward Black Belt. A few other people tried to stop him, but most merely ran away as he bolted past, raving like a maniac. Black Belt ran like a scared schoolgirl and hid in a tree, praying he'd live to see his friends again.

"I'm in some deep crap now..." he said, throwing rocks to keep the psychotic lunatic away from him.

---

Meanwhile, back in the destroyed town of Onrac, our four heroes contemplated about their plans to take on the third fiend, who had already begun his course of destruction.

"It's obvious he's going to be in the ocean, Thief! He's the Water Fiend!" Black Mage was arguing, pacing around and throwing his hands up to emphasize "Water Fiend." Thief, who had obviously gained the power of foreshadowing knowledge, simply sat in a tree, his katana in hand.

"I realize that, BM, but _where_ in the ocean is he going to show up? That's the one question I'm asking, and until we know for certain, we shouldn't make any hasty moves." Thief said reasonably, hacking off a branch and sticking it into his mouth. White Mage wiped her forehead.

"Thief is right. If we needed to consult Bahamut just to be able to withstand Kraken, the wisest choice is to plan our fight accordingly. There isn't a guarantee that this'll be anything like Lich." White Mage added, getting off of the rock she had previously been sitting on. Black Mage stopped pacing, but his fists were tightly clenched.

"And since when has Thief been a suitable advice giver?" Black Mage asked, angrily, "I realize what you're all saying, but come on! Look around! We've done enough wasting our time. You heard Bahamut! Chaos won't wait for us to show up! We must take action!" Black Mage's body tensed considerably as he spoke, and thought it was entirely useless to even argue. They could've already found Kraken by now, in his mind. Red Mage put his hand on Black Mage's shoulder to calm him down.

"BM, they're right. Action needs to be taken, I know, but we can't continue to wander blindly now. Think to yourself, which would take more time in the long run? Stopping to ask for directions and advice, or diving into the ocean and searching for hours, with possibly no result?" Red Mage asked, and Black Mage calmed down, returning to his newly logical self.

"That's quite a point, RM. Although it is a rather big waste of time for right now, I suppose we should ask if anyone can help us find Kraken." Black Belt agreed, sighing in defeat.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Thief said, and jumped out of the tree he'd been lying in. He landed next to Black Mage, and smiled confidently. Black Mage returned with a weak smile, as White Mage joined them again, and the four walked down the short path that soon opened up into the village square. But, as expected, only mud and debris greeted them. Each of them looked around, trying to find a shop or a house to get information from, but they found nothing as the cold wind blew gently across the mucky yards.

"On second thought... there doesn't seem to be anything here..." White Mage commented, as the four strolled across what should have been a grassy yard, and up to a run-down house. It might have been beautiful at one time, but now it was even a miracle the roof hadn't fallen in. This only made White Mage's comment a bit stronger. But Thief never left his spirit.

"WM, we can't be drowned down so easily. There must be _something_!" Thief exclaimed, and knocked on the door, "Hello! Please, answer us! We are here to defeat Kraken!" But Thief didn't get any reply. And as he went to knock on the door again, it fell over with a mighty crack, revealing a dusty, dirty interior. And it smelled strongly of mold and earth. Carefully, Thief stepped inside.

"Thief, be careful... if the town is deserted, who knows what may be hiding here." Black Mage warned calmly, stepping inside and standing in a defensive spell-casting position. Red Mage walked in and drew his sword, and White Mage stood beside Black Mage, a Harm2 spell ready. Thief opened a closet and quickly brandished his katana, but the only thing that fell out was a ruined fur coat.

"I'll go check the second floor." Red Mage said, as Thief threw the coat aside. Thief gave the thumbs-up and both mages nodded approvingly. Red Mage ran up the damp stairs and pushed the door to the first room he saw open. The second floor was in even worse condition than the first. The bedroom was particularly a wreck. The bed was sagging, the drawers were all upturned, and the windows looked as though they'd been forcefully blown open, as the glass laid there in pieces.

"If there is anything in here, you have three seconds to come out." Red Mage called out, and crept near the bed. It creaked with every step he took, and he slammed a Fire3 spell when it sloshed a bit. But the spell fizzled out as the bed burst, causing more water to spill onto the already wet rug, and all over Red Mage himself. He could hear footsteps as they ran up the stairs, and the door creaked as Black Mage burst in.

"Red Mage, is everything okay?" Black Mage asked, as he charged a Bolt spell. But he dismissed it when he saw Red Mage standing there, soaked, "What is going on here? I heard an explosion!"

"Everything's fine. I thought there was something moving under the bed, so I shot at it. But nothing's here." Red Mage replied, and began walking out of the room, "Where's WM and Thief?"

"They went to check out the basement." Black Mage answered simply, following Red Mage into the other room on the floor. Red Mage urged for them to keep quiet as he opened the door. The room was dark, and when Black Mage went to turn on the light, it simply blew out from the moisture. And the room smelled horribly of mold.

"Well, this is nice..." Black Mage muttered, as Red Mage rummaged through the desk he found. Finally, he took out an old log book and opened it up, curious as to what may be inside it. A small key fell out, but Red Mage was more intent on the text inside.

"RM, I don't see why you're reading that now. We have work to do." Black Mage stated, then sighed and walked over when Red Mage hadn't appeared to have heard him, "What is so damn interesting that you're not listening to me?"

"Sorry, BM. This seems to be some kind of receipt book for stolen goods." Red Mage replied quietly, as Black Mage took a look over his shoulder, "Look at this! Hydra fangs, Ochu roots... Naga scales... there's even a log on a fairy from Fantasia!" Black Mage looked around thoughtfully.

"I'd like to know where these people got these goods..." he murmured, "Maybe WM and Thief found something." With that, Black Mage walked out of the room and down the hall, Red Mage close behind.

"So, where'd they go, anyway?" Red Mage asked, as they walked down the stairs and through the remains of the living room. Black Mage stepped over a moldy, moist door and went down another flight of stairs.

"They said there might be something for us in the basement. I can't imagine anything useful here though. If it's not destroyed, then something is either soggy or moldy beyond use." Black Mage explained, and the two stepped into a large warehouse-type room. Crates had been destroyed, and the bookcases in the corners of the room fared no better. But on the other side of the room stood White Mage, who was holding a small bottle. Thief was looking through a box for something.

"Did you find anything useful?" Black Mage asked, walking up to White Mage. White Mage flicked her red hair back, and held up a bottle. Both Black and Red Mage peered inside it, but it was too dusty to see if it actually held anything.

"There's a fairy in there." White Mage explained, seeing the others' clueless faces, "A fairy from Fantasia. She says she was kidnapped while sending a message to the mermaids." Red Mage nodded absentmindedly and his thoughts went back to the logbook in the attic.

"That must be the fairy they mentioned..." he said, though he didn't think White Mage would hear.

"What is he talking about?" White Mage asked.

"We found a book of receipts on stolen rarities, and one of them was an unclosed log of that fairy." Black Mage replied, "WM, did she say where exactly the mermaids live? Can they help us find Kraken?" Thief had gotten out of the box and was standing near White Mage when he explained.

"Actually, the reason the fairy needed to send the message was _because_ Kraken kidnapped the mermaids. She was sending a response from the Sahagin Prince about their cry for help." Thief explained, holding up a small piece of paper, "Here's the note." Black Mage took it and read it carefully. After a few minutes, he rolled it up.

"By Chaos, we've nearly found Kraken! He's close to Onrac by way of the Onlac Sea." Black Mage exclaimed with excitement, "However, that leaves the problem with waterbreathing. It's impossible without magic from the mermaids." White Mage looked at the dusty bottle in her hands.

"At any rate, let's first return this fairy to the ocean... it should be buried by the beautiful sea." White Mage said, sadly. She walked up the steps onto the first floor, and the other three heard the front door open. Without word, they followed White Mage.

Within a mere five minutes, the warriors were standing on a short dock overlooking the sea. It had grown windy, and the skies were dark with clouds, but that wouldn't stop them. White Mage opened the bottle, but didn't expect what happened next. A flash of light flew out and hovered over her for a second, and when the light died, a small girl with wings was fluttering about.

"Thank you all so much!" she chirped happily. The four could only stare, mouths agape, at the fairy. Finally, Black Mage found his voice.

"What the hell? You're alive?" he asked, then clamped his mouth shut. The fairy giggled.

"Yes, I am! I've been in that jar for 50 years, though. I've been waiting for someone, anyone, to let me out! Thank you all!" she exclaimed, "Now I can save the mermaids! But... what should I give such good-hearted people?" Everyone turned to Red Mage. He swallowed, and walked up to the fairy.

"We need the ability to breathe underwater. We're here to stop Kraken as well. He's terrorized the entire area, and he must be stopped." Red Mage explained calmly. The fairy's eyes widened with wonder, but her smile never faded.

"Really? Wonderful! With the powers of the Sahagin Prince, I grant thee the breath of water!" the fairy said, and a blast of sparkling light showered over everyone, "All right! Let's go!"

"Wait a second! How do we know the spell works?" Black Mage asked. But the fairy had already used her magic to push the other three in, and before he even got an answer, Black Mage was also thrust into the depths of the ocean. He kept his eyes shut, and only opened them when he felt he'd reached the bottom. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in an old underwater courtyard. Luckily everyone had landed near each other.

"Where are we?" White Mage asked, waking up. She stretched out as Thief got off a block of cement.

"Maybe we're in Atlantis." he suggested, but Red Mage was standing in front of a huge pair of doors.

"We're in the Water Shrine..." Red Mage said, "This is... this is where my father was last seen..." Black Mage walked up next to him.

"Are you ready to go in? Can you go in?" Black Mage asked, tilting his head. Red Mage looked down, and his eyes were filled with tears.

"We have no choice, BM. No, I'm not ready to face the possibility that my father's gone for good. He's all I've had since mom died. But I must find out, and we have to stop Kraken. That means going in there and seeing history unfold itself." Red Mage said, and tears began to fall down his cheeks. Black Mage patted Red Mage on the back.

"I don't think anyone could've put it any better." Black Mage replied. Red Mage looked up at him and smiled as White Mage and Thief came over.

"We'll be here, too." White Mage said, "If you need some emotional support for when we find out what happened to Cid."

"That's what friends do, after all!" Thief added, "And if this adventure taught us anything, it's that we're best buddies who stick around, even during volcano blasts and evil eyes!" Everyone chuckled at Thief's statement, but they all knew it was true. Red Mage dried his tears.

"All right, then. Let's do this!" he yelled, and opened the doors. Inside looked nearly as bad as Onrac seemed, only underwater. But everything was covered in a thick mold, and seaweed had begun to block out some of the windows and doorways. But sunlight was able to get through the unblocked windows, casting rays of light along the walls and floor. If it hadn't been so creepy, the four might've found it beautiful.

"This looks confusing." Thief sighed, walking up to a patch of seaweed. He took out his katana and attempted to slash it down, but the seaweed had grown way too thick, and the katana merely made a little scratch until the seaweed reformed itself.

"Is Kraken trying to trap us in here?" White Mage asked, when Black Mage's Bolt3 spell didn't even seem to hit the patch in any way. Red Mage looked carefully at the patterns of the seaweed. They'd blocked off all but one door. Red Mage walked into the doorway, and saw it led upward. He could also feel that the water was colder on those stairs.

"I doubt he'd trap us. Look, the entrance isn't closed up. No, I think someone is trying to lead us straight to Kraken." Red Mage suggested, and without another thought, he was up the stairs.

"I think he's lost it again." Black Mage shrugged, and along with White Mage and Thief, went up the stairs to find Red Mage. However, Red Mage was nowhere to be found as Black Mage reached the top step and walked onto what appeared to be a balcony overlooking the first floor. He looked over the railing as Thief walked up, and White Mage stood guard.

"This is just weird. Anyway, where the hell is RM?" Black Mage asked, and soon got his answer as Red Mage waved zealously at them, "How did you get there?"

"There's a broken pillar we can jump on. Come on, I think this leads even higher up!" Red Mage called back, and pointed to a pillar, which had been broken just enough to be used as a pedestal for a jump to where Red Mage was standing. Black Mage sighed, and walked over, noticing that Red Mage had kicked the banister in perfect alignment of the pillar. He jumped onto the pillar, making sure to keep his balance, and finally jumped to the second balcony. White Mage jumped next, but when she reached the second balcony, the pillar collapsed, no longer able to support anything in the water.

"Oh no! Thief hasn't crossed yet!" White Mage cried, as Thief stood there, confused, "What do we do?"

"Wait, if we're in water, why can't we just swim across?" Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. Red Mage pointed to the ceiling.

"There's some sort of vacuum in the ceiling that's creating pressure. If we attempt to swim across, it'll merely push us to the ground. I already tried to use a toy copter I found on the floor as a test subject, and it sank." Red Mage explained. Thief, however, used his new ninja powers to simply run across the wall and land conveniently next to Red Mage. Black Mage stared in wonderment.

"How did you do that?" he whispered, amazed.

"I'm a ninja now. And if you've ever read ninja manga, we ninja never get hurt." Thief said proudly, "Our evasion is way too high." Black Mage laughed.

"You _never_ get hurt? Thief, how do you explain your HP loss when you were still a thief?" Black Mage asked, amused.

"Oh, that's easy. I wasn't nearly as fast as I am now." Thief replied, as the four walked through the door and up another pair of stairs. But before they reached the top, Red Mage stopped.

"Guys, did you hear that? Or was that just me?" Red Mage asked. The other three stopped immediately and listened intently.

"I don't hear anything." Black Mage stated, "What did it sound like?"

"I hear it. It's some kind of cracking sound, like something is breaking." White Mage replied, shivering. Thief concentrated carefully.

"It sounds very close, almost like it's... right..." Thief looked up at the ceiling, and the others followed quickly, only to realize something very lethal.

"Above us!" They all screamed, "Red Mage, go!" Red Mage dashed up the rest of the stairs, only to slam into a locked door. He kicked it, then rammed into it, and finally tried cutting off the lock.

"It's no use! I can't get this door open!" Red Mage cried desperately, "What about back down there?" White Mage looked down, but the seaweed had begun to cling to the doorway, and she already knew nothing could break it.

"It's no good down here either!" White Mage called back, looking up, "What now? It's beginning to fall!" Red Mage ran back to his friends, and tried to use Stop on the ceiling to keep it together for a little bit while he thought of a different plan, but the water fizzled out his spells, and Black Mage wasn't having any more luck. In a few short moments, small fragments of plaster fell onto the four, and they saw a huge chunk of the ceiling was about to fall. White Mage started screaming, and Black Mage fell to the floor, terrified.

"Wait! Quickly, everyone behind me!" Thief exclaimed, and stood in front of his friends, closing his eyes.

"Thief, no! Don't sacrifice yourself!" Black Mage yelled, "It probably won't work anyway!"

"Relax! I'm a ninja, remember? We ninja are never hurt." Thief said.

"_HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?_" White Mage yelled, clutching Thief's arms. Thief winced a little in pain.

"You're just gonna have to trust me..." he wheezed. Finally, the ceiling fell in. The four shut their eyes and prayed to whatever god they believed in, but not one of them felt any pain or plaster strike them, and a few minutes later, the plaster stopped falling, and everything became peaceful. Black Mage opened his eyes and looked around. The ceiling had definitely fallen in, but it collapsed around them, and completely missed hitting everyone.

"We... we made it? We're alive?" Red Mage asked, opening his eyes and taking a look around.

"I see it, but I can't _believe_ it." Black Mage said, an odd mixture of confusion and happiness on his face. Thief, however, put one foot on a piece of plaster.

"I KNEW IT! I AM _INVINCIBLE!_" he screamed proudly, throwing his arms up in victory, "Now I need a cool nickname! How does Invinco-man sound? Or maybe Shade?" Black Mage sat down.

"I think Idiot-Boy suits you best." he mumbled, "Besides, look around. We're not dead, but now we're trapped in a pile of moldy shrine. I freakin' dare you to find a way outta this." Red Mage tried to lift a piece of the plaster, but it proved too heavy.

"Even underwater, we can't move a thing... But we must stay calm. Maybe we can think of something..." Red Mage said, sitting down on a small board. But what he didn't tell everyone was that he was beyond exhaustion now, as he sat there breathing heavily. White Mage sat next to Red Mage.

"Let's think for a bit about this. It's not like we can move much as it is, anyway. Maybe there IS a way..." White Mage said, as Thief joined them. And so, they would just have to think about how to get out. And with that, the brainstorming began...

---

Uh oh, this can't get worse, can it? Can our heroes get out of the pile? Will Kraken find them? Will the fairy's magic hold out long enough? And will they find Cid, Red Mage's father? Find out the answer to these questions next chapter, so click that review button!


	23. Into the darkness of the water fiend

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any FF games or 8-Bit.

Black Belt was shivering as he hid in the tree, trying to keep the psychotic swordsman from killing him. All around, people tried to calm the blonde down, but not even Sabin had any luck.

"Dude, you _have_ to calm down! He didn't know you were a guy! Hell, I _still_ think you're a girl!" Sabin cried, trying to restrain the blonde, who was fuming and foaming at the mouth. He struggled a bit more, but couldn't break free of Sabin's grip.

"_LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HIM!_" he screamed, as a young man in blue armor took the blonde's sword and told Sabin to let him go.

"Zero, stop it or I'll cut off your hair and feed it to you." he warned, and the blonde, who obviously was Zero, sulked.

"But... but he called me a girl!" Zero whined, pointing to Black Belt, who was slowly climbing out of the tree. He landed on his feet.

"I'm really sorry about that. Can we just forget it though? We have a job to do." he said, as Zero nodded reluctantly. Black Belt walked back to the podium as the crowd began to reform from the excitement. Black Belt took the microphone and said, "So, as it stands, we need some ideas for housing structures before we begin. Who has any ideas?" Not to his surprise, only a few people had their hands raised.

"I think we should build a huge castle for the town hall! With gardens and a cemetery, and a creepy fence to keep intruders out." One man called out. Black Belt shrugged.

"Hmm.. I'll consider that. What's your name?" Black Belt asked.

"Nathan." the man replied, flicking back his white hair.

"Okay, Nathan. You and that Zero guy will be in charge of finding bricks and tiles to work with to build the foundation." Black Belt said, "Any other ideas?" A girl raised her hand this time.

"We should have a fountain! It would look really cool in the town square!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes in happiness. Black Belt smiled.

"It would indeed. What's your name?" he asked. The girl giggled.

"Iris!" she chirped.

"Okay. Iris, I'm putting you in charge of the blueprint for the fountain, and I want you and as many friends as you have to find some flower seeds to plant." Black Belt replied, and Iris nodded vigorously. Little by little, Black Belt assigned everyone assembled a job, and soon the groups began to look for wood, seeds, or whatever they were ordered to find. Black Belt walked off the podium and grinned as he watched everyone.

"This is the best crew we could ask for. I have a feeling we'll get this town built very quickly!" he said happily, smiling.

---

Meanwhile, our heroes pondered carefully on just how to get out of their current problem, which was being buried under a pile of plaster. Thief had suggested that maybe Black Mage used a Fire3 spell to blast their way out, but that had quickly been ruled out. Red Mage asked if a Mini spell would work, but White Mage didn't know Mini. Black Mage even tried his Saber spell to raise his strength to move the plaster, but it had nearly no effect.

"Now what?" Thief asked, as Black Mage fell backwards, "We've nearly run out of options." Red Mage wasn't ready to give up as he searched his brain for an answer. But Thief was right. They'd used almost every option they could think of, and they had no results.

"There has to be a way! I will not accept defeat!" Red Mage growled, plunging his sword into the piece of plaster he'd been sitting on. He felt it split, and then it collapsed, and he landed roughly on the floor. Black Mage snickered.

"Smooth move, doofus." he commented, as Red Mage got up. But White Mage seemed impressed.

"RM, look! You shattered the plaster!" she exclaimed. Red Mage looked at her with mild confusion.

"I can see that. What's the point?" he asked, retrieving his sword.

"Don't you see? The plaster might be too heavy to lift, but it's also so moldy that it breaks with one blow." White Mage explained, picking up her hammer, "Do you get my point now?" Red Mage smiled.

"Of course! It's ingenious! I don't see why we didn't think of it sooner!" he said, and gestured everyone to draw their weapons, "Everyone, attack with all your might!" And instantly, everyone attacked any piece of plaster they saw. And as White Mage said, it crumbled with just one attack, even from Black Mage! Within mere minutes, their prison had been reduced to almost nothing. Thief wiped his forehead and put his katana away.

"We did it! We're free!" he cried happily. But Black Mage blinked blankly.

"I hate to drag you down, but we're not free. The door to the second floor is covered with seaweed and the door to the third is locked. We're just as stuck as we were before." Black Mage commented. Red Mage walked up the stairs and checked the lock, only to find that it had fallen off from the cave-in.

"It's not locked, guys." he called, and everyone looked up at him, "The force of the collapse must have caused the chains to weaken a bit, so if any plaster fell, it'd break instantly." Black Mage ran up to see for himself, and couldn't find anything to prove Red Mage wrong.

"Does this mean we're near Kraken then?" he asked, as Red Mage walked up to the third floor. Thief walked by next.

"On the contrary, I think we're far from him. This would be too easy if he were right there." Thief replied grimly, stepping onto the third floor as well. He shielded his eyes as sunlight shined through the water onto the unroofed floor, and guessed they were on the top. Maybe he was wrong.

"But we did just survive a cave in." White Mage stated, walked up with Black Mage, "Besides, this seems to be the top floor. Where else could we go?"

"He could be in one of these rooms. We should check." Red Mage said, and opened the door to the closest room. But instead of a monster, Red Mage found a young girl with a fish tail for the lower part of her body. She looked very weak as she laid on her bed.

"A mermaid..." he whispered silently, but it still caught her attention. She looked at him with tired eyes.

"Are you... the ones we seek?" she asked, as she coughed. Red Mage slowly walked in to allow the other three to look. They gasped as they saw the mermaid's condition. White Mage ran in and immediately cast a cure spell, only to have it fail.

"What? Why didn't my spell work?" White Mage asked. The mermaid smiled weakly at her as her tail flopped onto the floor.

"Your magic cannot affect me underwater." she explained, "But please... are you the ones we seek?" Black Mage put down his staff and leaned against the wall.

"It depends. Who is it you're seeking?" he asked. Red Mage helped the mermaid as she tried to sit up a little straighter.

"The Light Warriors..." she gasped, "We have been waiting for them for the past 10 years... One of them showed up to fight Kraken, but we haven't seen him since we opened the gates to the dungeons." Red Mage's eyes widened as he thought back to his father's journal. The last place he recorded was the Water Shrine. The last place anyone saw him was in the Water Shrine. Without hesitation, Red Mage asked the question plaguing his mind.

"Was his name... Cid?" Red Mage asked. The mermaid nodded weakly.

"Yes. Why? Have you seen him? Has he defeated Kraken yet?" she asked, as a few more mermaids swam out of their rooms to gather. The four warriors could feel the hope and anxiety spilling into the room, and it nearly crushed Red Mage to answer.

"...Cid is my father..." Red Mage replied, sadly, "Or... was. I don't know where he is, but he hasn't defeated Kraken... I came here to find him." Red Mage closed his eyes, afraid to look into the disappointed faces of the mermaids. But one mermaid put her hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"We are sorry for your loss..." She said, "Chances are, he was killed by Kraken."

"I know... but I must know where his body is. I need to know for sure that he is dead." Red Mage said, and his voice grew with determination, "And if he is, then I will kill Kraken with twice the vengeance." Another mermaid swam in happily, and everyone felt the hope pouring through her. She stopped in front of the first mermaid and looked down at the warriors.

"We'll help you any way we can!" she said cheerfully, then turned to the first mermaid, "Right, sis?" The first mermaid nodded, but Thief protested.

"Do not take offense, but you all are weak from being here with Kraken. We don't want you to use your powers if it'll hurt you." Thief stated, placing his hand on his heart. Some of the mermaids giggled, but some of the older ones could barely smile at the kind remark.

"It is a kind gesture, child." A rather old-looking mermaid croaked, "But we want Kraken to die as much as you do. Failure is no option, and even if it should cost us, we will do what we can to ensure this world's safety." She flicked back her gray hair majestically in dignified pride. Black Mage tilted his head in curiosity.

"And we shall accept. But, and don't mind me asking, what kind of assistance can you give us? As the Light Warriors, we can't put you in danger." Black Mage said sternly. The mermaid sitting beside her sister giggled again as she twirled around Black Mage.

"We can open the path to Kraken's lair!" she chirped happily, "And we'll answer any questions you have about him!" Black Mage smiled approvingly, and stepped back to let one of his comrades ask any questions before the gate to Kraken was opened. To his surprise, White Mage stepped forward rather than Red Mage.

"If my magic spell couldn't cure you, does this mean magic won't affect Kraken either?" White Mage asked, "Does he have a weakness or strength we need to be aware of?" The older mermaid placed her hand on her chin in thought as she answered.

"Unfortunately, yes. Magic will have little effect on the old fool, thanks to the underwater pressure. However, it can still prove useful to you in terms of powering yourself up. That kind of magic isn't affected by pressure simply because it is of the mind, and not of this physical world." she explained. Thief blinked as he tried to process this information.

"I'm not quite sure I get what you mean. Why is it of the mind? What's not physical about it?" Thief asked, raising an eyebrow. He tried to think it out in his head, but he was pretty sure his brain would melt before he got it. Black Mage sighed.

"What she means is, the ability to raise our own attributes isn't affected because we can't SEE it. If we were to cast a Bolt spell, that energy would have to manifest itself into a form of some kind just to be able to hit our target. But my Saber spell or WM's Blink spell will still work because it's merely a surge of power entering our bodies. There's no actual physical form needed to see the effects." Black Mage explained, and began to pant after putting the term to a form even Thief could understand. Thief merely scratched his head.

"I still don't get why regular spells won't work." he said. Black Mage twitched as he resisted a familiar urge to choke Thief.

"The physical forms will weigh more underwater, they'll be too heavy to focus." Red Mage replied quickly, and thankfully, Thief understood. The older mermaid cleared her throat to signal that she was about to speak again. The four quickly snapped to their attention.

"Magical properties aside, are you four prepared to go and face Kraken?" she asked, "I don't mean to rush, but we are running out of time." Red Mage bowed politely.

"I'm sorry. Yes, I believe we are prepared." he replied. The older mermaid nodded, and with a flick of her wrist, began to glow. The doorway on the other side of the room of rooms, which had previously been covered with thick seaweed, began to open. The other mermaids slowly began to glow until the entire hall filled with a marvelous light. The seaweed let go of the door, and it was soon opened completely, revealing nothing but darkness. Leaving the mermaids to watch in silent wonderment, the four walked through the door, which closed as soon as Thief, who brought up the rear, passed by.

Once the door shut, the warriors saw why everyone was so afraid of Kraken. The door had blocked off all source of heat, making it very cold, as well as blocking off any light from coming through. Within five steps, Black Mage made a ball of light in his palm so they could see where they were going. But it helped very little as they looked down the corridor. It looked like an almost endless line leading into a thick fog of darkness, and the fact that the walls were covered in a thin sheet of ice only made the corridor scarier.

"How can ice form when it's this warm out?" White Mage asked as they walked through cautiously. The walls made her voice sound much louder than she actually intended, and it made her jump. Red Mage chuckled.

"The door is blocking the heat." Red Mage answered, "Anyway, this definitely seems like a place for a fiend to hide." Black Mage, who'd been leading, glanced back for a second.

"The question is, where? This is just a big hallway. We haven't come across any doors since we started. I'm beginning to wonder if this is even the right way." Black Mage muttered, until he stopped dead in his tracks. Thief accidentally knocked into him and soon saw what the stop was for. Only a few feet away, a silhouetted figure sat, staring into the darkness. Not wanting to attract its attention, everyone stood still, watching for its next action. But it didn't move.

"Should we go see what it is?" White Mage whispered, shivering from the cold. Red Mage stepped forward.

"It couldn't hurt." he replied, walking over to the silhouette, "Excuse me, but is everything okay here?" The figure turned to look at Red Mage, and the shadow around it vanished to reveal a middle-aged, ragged, thin man with short red hair. His cape was tattered to pieces and his armor was cracked. Red Mage recognized him almost instantly.

"I've waited for someone to find me for a long time, Relik." the man said, quietly. His voice held a lot of strain. Tears fell from Red Mage's face as he heard that voice.

"Dad...?" he asked, "Is that really you? But... why? Why haven't you come back? Did you defeat Kraken? What's going on?" The older man tried to signal for Red Mage to calm down, but emotions ruled Red Mage's heart as he hugged his father. Thief, and the two mages, simply watched patiently. The older man, Cid, looked at his son seriously.

"Kraken is still alive, son. And the reason I haven't returned is because I can't." Cid answered, his own eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Why not? Are you hurt? We can always teleport you to safety." Thief said, but Cid merely shook his head.

"No, I am not hurt." Cid replied, "I am dead." Red Mage suddenly pulled away in shock, gasping for air. Black Mage stumbled a bit as he heard the news, and White Mage was shaking a bit. Thief stared, his mouth agape with disbelief.

"You're... you're _dead_?" Black Mage asked, "How... how is this possible?" Cid sighed as he got up off the ground.

"It's a difficult thing to explain, children. But my will transcends death, at least until I tell you what I need to tell you." Cid said simply. Red Mage dried his tears quickly, but the sadness still showed in his red face.

"Well... what is it? What do you need to tell us?" Red Mage said, trying to refrain from crying. Cid smiled, but with sadness as he looked towards the floor.

"You must defeat Kraken. We all know this. But there is a special way to defeat him." Cid began, and his stern expression returned, "Neither magic nor weapon does good for him, because he gets his powers from the water."

"The mermaids said to just use ability-raising spells. No biggie." Black Mage interrupted, casually. But Cid glared at him, and he shrunk back.

"It's quite a biggie, boy. Eventually those spells wear off, but Kraken will still be at full power! Now listen to me and stop interrupting. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't show you a thing or two about respect!" Cid exclaimed before continuing, "Anyway, that's how he defeated me, by using the power of water." Thief leaned back a little.

"So, what you're saying is, we need to cut off this power." he said, "But how are we going to do that? Lift him out of the water? That's crazy!"

"Maybe not..." Red Mage stated, "If we can get him to chase us, we could lead him to shore. Then we could blast him with every spell we have." Black Mage scoffed, and folded his arms.

"We could, but just how are we going to outrun him?" Black Mage asked, and pulled out a picture of an octopus, "He's from the octopi family. He has eight arms, maybe even more, to ensnare us with and crush us to death. And even without them, he's still faster. It's a nice plan, but highly unrealistic." Cid had begun stroking his hair back as Black Mage ranted on about Kraken, trying to think of just how they could pull their plan off. Suddenly, it hit him.

"It's not impossible! But you will need a few things." Cid said, and a cocky smile spread across his face, "First off, does any of you know the Blink spell?" Not surprisingly, White Mage rose her hand.

"Yes, but what good will that do?" she asked.

"Blink creates illusionary copies of someone. We'll use that to create a decoy of one of you to insult Kraken. Meanwhile, you all should focus on getting back to the entrance where my sub is waiting. That can definitely outrun that old sushi platter of a fiend." Cid explained further. Everyone began to smile and smirk too, but Black Mage still didn't look the least bit convinced.

"Guys, don't you remember the seaweed? It blocked the path to the second floor! We're still stuck." he stated, and Thief began to become discouraged. But Cid laughed.

"You're not stuck! The mermaids were all behind the seaweed. They were leading you here. But now that you got what you need, I bet it's gone." Cid said. Black Mage had a look of pure rage on his face.

"_THEY TRICKED US?_" he screamed, as a vein throbbed in his head, "Why those little..." White Mage quickly grabbed Black Mage's arms to keep him from killing anyone.

"BM, the point is that we're okay. Now let's get moving before the world's biggest seafood salad gets here." Thief said. He went to stroll forward until Cid stopped him. Cid looked at everyone with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"Good luck to all of you." he said, and turned to Red Mage, "Relik... go get 'em, son. Show him that the Highwinds are never to be messed with! And make your old man proud!" Cid gave Red Mage a salute, which was promptly returned.

"Don't worry, dad. I'll do even _better_ than that!" Red Mage replied confidently. Cid laughed again.

"Oh you will, will you? Well now..." Cid was about to say something else until he started glowing. Then, he started to slowly fade away, and he screamed in pain. Everyone covered their ears as a blast of light erupted, and then Cid was nowhere to be seen. Red Mage looked around frantically.

"D-dad? Dad, where are you?" Red Mage cried, looking everywhere. But instead of hearing his father's voice, he heard maniacal laughter, and suddenly it grew even darker than before. And the voice that came next was no comfort.

"So, you are the fools who think to stop me? Ha! Such a pity..." it scorned. It hurt each of the warriors to hear such a voice, but they took it with determination.

"Like you'd stop us! We've already gotten two orbs!" Thief exclaimed proudly. But this merely caused the voice to laugh even harder.

"And you've won by mere fluke! That fool, Lich. He was too concerned with gaining back his own life to care for his destiny for power! And Kary... useless Kary. She saw how ridiculous this was, yet her attempts were all in vain." the voice laughed with mockery. Red Mage drew his sword.

"How DARE you talk about Kary like that!" he screamed, and he looked as dangerous as he now felt, "She was our friend! She died giving us a chance!"

"No!" the voice hissed, "I killed her so I could get to you sooner. That little volcanic eruption happened because I manipulated the water around the volcano." Red Mage nearly dropped his sword.

"You... you did that? But why?" White Mage asked. The voice laughed yet again.

"Why? For power. I shall be this world's one true ruler, and I'll even kill off the fourth fiend if that's what it takes!" the voice boomed, "But if you truly feel you can stop me, go ahead..." With that, the four heard a rumbling ahead, and a door opened up. Red Mage turned back around towards his friends.

"We must stop him, and we must do it NOW! He is no ordinary fiend. I can feel an incredible evil in him, one that the last two fiends just didn't have. Are you three ready?" he asked. Everyone nodded.

"I'm in." Thief said.

"Let's kill him!" Black Mage cried out, and everyone ran down the hallway, to the door into Kraken's lair...

---

Well, now it's our heroes versus Kraken, the most evil fiend our heroes have come upon yet! Can they hope to stand even a chance against him? Are they too late to save the mermaids? What made this fiend more vile than the others? And will Cid's advice help? Find out in the next chapter, so click that review button!


	24. Wait, they called him WHAT?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any FF games. I would like to thank you all for your support, and for those who don't know, the big guys here won't let me respond to reviews.

---

Black Belt stood in complete amazement. Only a few hours ago, he had a nightmarish meeting with a crew he didn't even know, and now they nearly had the town hall built in the style Nathan suggested. Iris managed to get her friends to help her with the flowers and the Town Square, and Zero was chopping down trees with his saber while Sabin was carrying the logs to Fighter and Nathan, who were continuing to build the castle.

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" Black Belt exclaimed happily, "We're sure to have the town built by the time our friends get back!" However, just as Black Belt finished that sentence, a fight broke out between two workers.

"No! We can't build a fence with sticks! People could just burn the place down if we did!" One little girl with an orange cape cried, as the boy, who Black Belt assumed was her twin brother, tried tying two sticks together.

"Well, we're not building it out of lego blocks either!" the boy cried back, as his sister pushed his small fence down. Black Belt sighed at the thought of dealing with two underage brats, but walked up to the pair anyway.

"Hey, kids, what's wrong?" he asked in the nicest voice he could.

"Stupid Palom wants to make a fence out of sticks, but I know people will just burn it down!" The girl piped, as the boy, who was Palom, stuck his tongue out at her.

"And dumb Porom thinks lego blocks would be better!" Palom added, and once again the argument continued.

"They ARE better!"

"No they aren't, you Pebbles reject!"

"R-reject? _YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN, PIGGY-FACE?_"

"_FINE! PEBBLES REJECT!_" By this time, Black Belt was amazed he didn't snap... but of course a second later he did.

"_SHUT UP!_" he screamed, and the two twins kept quiet, "Listen, neither sticks nor blocks are a good choice. We're going to use metal. Now, go find some metal and when you do, come get me, okay?" Porom nodded as Palom brought a large metal spear out.

"Would this metal stick do?" he asked. Black Belt took the spear and looked at it. It had an insignia of a dragon on it, and the name engraved was "Kain Highwind." Black Belt looked sternly at the two.

"Where did you find this?" he asked.

"Oh, down by the river! We found a bunch of them, and they were all dropped by the same guy!" Porom exclaimed, as Palom added, "What was odd was that he dropped them by the river at all! I mean, some of that stuff was incredibly powerful!" Black Belt's face paled as he remembered that Kain died in a horrible river accident... Poor Kain was gone but never forgotten...

---

As the heroes ran inside Kraken's lair, they hadn't expected it to be an open space in which sunlight shined through, but it was. And they certainly expected to see Kraken waiting for them, but he wasn't. Thief took a step further into the lair, and threw a rock into the center. But even that didn't cause anything to stir.

"Is he even here?" Thief asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Black Mage walked out a bit too, and took a careful look around.

"He doesn't appear to be." Black Mage stated, "Anyway, this gives us an advantage. White Mage, start casting Blink on all of us." White Mage's eyes widened.

"All of us? But... but Cid said only one of us was needed!" she cried, "That's a lot of MP." Black Mage was about to argue, but Red Mage stopped him and looked at White Mage kindly.

"It might be, but it will be worth it." Red Mage said, "We need time to get to the sub. Not much, but any little bit helps. And with four clones to take care of, that should keep him occupied for at least a little while." White Mage seemed to relax a little, and began to cast it.

"I suppose you're right, RM. Well, let's hope it works! BLINK!" White Mage boomed, and instantly there was a clone of her. The two White Mages smiled at each other, and they both cast Blink on Thief and Red Mage this time. After that, the original White Mage cast Blink on Black Mage, and there was a successful set of clones standing across the originals. Black Mage snorted.

"Nice work, WM. Now, I trust you know what to do?" he asked, looking at his own clone. To his amusement, his clone looked as annoyed as he did as it placed its hands on its hips.

"Of course I do. I'm a branch-off of you." The BM clone said, smirking, "Just leave it to us." With that, the original heroes tiptoed to the edge of elevated room and looked down. Since the hallway into Kraken's lair ended in a staircase, they were almost exactly above the submarine Cid had mentioned, though it looked in bad condition. Meanwhile, the clones stood in the center, and the Thief Clone was making some rude remarks about Kraken. A rumbling of the entire shrine meant that he'd definitely heard and was most unpleased.

"I hope you know what you're doing, RM!" Black Mage whispered, as Red Mage had begun to climb down and hang onto the edge of the platform. However, the sudden force caused him to nearly fall off as Thief grabbed his arm quickly.

"Forget if he knows or not! Let's go!" Thief said, and jumped off the edge, swimming towards the bottom where the sub laid. Red Mage let go and let himself drift off towards the sub as White Mage swam after him. Black Mage looked back one last time and saw the battle was just about to start, and then he jumped as well.

"So, you horrible brats think you can defeat me?" Kraken asked, stopping in front of the clones. He was clearly ten to twenty times their size, and his tentacles did look like they'd crush the clones in no time. Nonetheless, the BM clone stood unafraid as he made the next remark.

"We've beaten Lich and gotten Kary to join us. You're no different from them!" the BM clone spat, "Besides, I'm in just the right mood for takoyaki anyway!" This made Kraken angrier, and his skin began to turn purple.

"You insolent fool! How dare you threaten me with your Japanese dishes! I am no common octopus, nor am I the typical idiotic fiend you've come to get used to!" Kraken roared, attempting to blow the clones back, but they stood their ground.

"You think you can beat us?" the RM clone asked, as the wind died down. Kraken laughed maniacally.

"Beat you? I will tear you apart and rip you asunder!" Kraken replied, and flailed his tentacle madly. Each clone got slammed with one, and they merely faded away as each one was defeated one after another. Kraken became outright furious when he couldn't find the heroes' dead bodies where they'd fought. Instead, he found a note left by the BM clone, which read 'You just beat some clones, loser.' Kraken ripped the note in a rage.

"_WHAT?_" he screamed, "Those fools DARE to dupe me? I will CRUSH them!" With that, Kraken became to swim over the edge as he saw the submarine. Quickly catching onto the purpose of the clones, he swam towards the submarine, an unholy evil grin growing on his face.

Meanwhile, our heroes managed to make it safely into the submarine, but the inside didn't look good. Thief and Black Mage spent the first few moments using Fire2 on all of the mold that had begun to grow, and now Red Mage was doing his best to start up the engine. Unfortunately, the ship had been in disuse so long, nothing seemed to be working.

"How's it going back there, RM?" Thief asked, as White Mage straightened up a chair and Black Mage was looking out the window. No one saw the look of horror on his face as Red Mage answered.

"Not good. I can't get it to start up, and I'm not even sure if it'll hold up if I do." Red Mage replied. Suddenly, Black Mage let out a scream that caught everyone's attention.

"Well, you'd better hurry up because Kraken's coming!" he screamed. Thief ran to the window.

"What? He destroyed the clones already? Man, RM, hurry it up!" Thief cried. Red Mage began to sweat as he tried to flip levers and push buttons as fast as he could in an attempt to get the old sub started, but nothing seemed to work. On top of that, everyone else had started screaming, and Red Mage could hear Kraken laughing as he swam closer and closer. At this point, Black Mage ran into the control room as White Mage and Thief began to barricade the doors and windows.

"RM, aren't you done yet?" Black Mage asked, exasperated. Red Mage wiped his forehead off and shook his head.

"It's no use! I can't get the ship to respond to any of my commands!" Red Mage replied, and he sounded just as panicked. A sudden blast caused the ship to shake, and Thief fell right into Black Mage as Red Mage caught White Mage. Kraken suddenly appeared outside the ship's windshield.

"Hello, little children." he said darkly, his teeth showing as he talked, "It wasn't nice of you to try and trick uncle Kraken, now, was it?" With that, Kraken slammed another tentacle into the ship, and everyone was lucky he hadn't bashed the windshield in. But he did manage to knock everything over. Red Mage crawled out of two chairs that had fallen onto him and grabbed one of the controls, but Kraken laughed harshly and hit the sub again, sending Red Mage hurtling backwards. Black Mage stood up and dusted his robes off.

"All right, you giant sack of ink! I've had it with you!" Black Mage growled, and got into a magic-casting position. Kraken laughed.

"Aww, did I make the little mage cry?" he cooed, "What are you going to do? Tell your mommy on me?" Black Mage merely smirked.

"Oh, much worse..." he replied confidently, "BOLT3!" And out from the sky, a giant bolt of lightning slammed near Kraken, barely missing him. But it hit the ship instead.

"BM, what was that for?" Thief asked, getting an upturned bookcase off of White Mage, "Are you _trying_ to kill us?"

"Wait for it." Black Mage commanded, and soon the ship sped away from Kraken and up towards the surface with incredible speed. The four watched as Kraken, in his confused wake, grew smaller and smaller. Red Mage smiled.

"Incredible! Your spell was exactly what we needed to get moving!" he exclaimed, "We may just have a chance now!" Thief turned away from the window for a second.

"You meant to hit our ship, didn't you?" he asked, as White Mage began to pick up a few books and place them back onto the shelves. Black Mage shrugged and put his hands into his pockets.

"More or less. Either way, I would've bought us some time." he replied coolly, "But now we have to keep going if we wanna thrash him for good."

"But what do we do?" White Mage asked, as she finished organizing everything. Red Mage opened the door on the top of the sub and began to climb out.

"Remember what my father said? We have to get Kraken out of the water." he answered, "So, the first thing to do is get away from the docks or the city, and make sure the land around us is completely dry. BM can take care of that later, though. Right now, let's just get out of the water." With that, the four climbed out of the submarine and onto the docks. The sky was overcast, but Black Mage reassured everyone that rain wasn't possible right then, and they ran along the shoreline away from Onlac until they came to a grassy, yet very moist field.

"Now what? Do we wait?" Thief asked, when they'd stopped running. Red Mage was checking the ground, and shook his head quickly.

"No. Far from it. We have to prepare the battlefield to suit our favor. Right now, even the land outside the city is soaked with water." Red Mage explained, "So, BM, Thief, let's cast Fire on the ground and dry it up." Thief's eyes widened with worry.

"Won't that set the land aflame though?" Thief asked. Black Mage chuckled.

"No! Because there's so much water here, it'll keep the fire from igniting anything!" Black Mage exclaimed, "But likewise, the heat will cause the water to evaporate, drying the grass! RM, that's an ingenious idea, and I can't believe it occurred to you to try manipulating our field beforehand!" Red Mage smiled with confidence, and along with Thief and Black Mage, began to cast Fire spells until his MP ran out. And it did the trick! Nothing burned, but nothing was wet anymore. And, to continue their luck, Thief managed to bring some of the Ether Dry that Cid kept in his ship to restore their MP.

"Perfect!" Black Mage said happily as he chugged his drink down, "Now we'll be more than prepared when our seafood salad shows up." White Mage, however, still had her concerns.

"I'm still worried it'll rain." she stated simply. Black Mage finished the last of his Ether Dry and sighed.

"It's not happening." he said simply, "The air's not thick enough for it." And just then, Kraken emerged from the water, smiling viciously. He didn't take notice of what was happening as he stepped... or more, slugged onto the land.

"Haha! That little chase was useless! I will stop you here and now, foolish children!" he laughed, his eyes gleaming red. Thief yawned.

"You've said that three times already and we're still standing here." Thief said, "Despite what you say, I think you're about as stupid as Lich was." Kraken's face turned an unpleasant red.

"_WHAT WAS THAT?_" he roared angrily, "You're comparing me to Lich?" Black Mage snickered.

"At least Lich was too stupid... or maybe not stupid enough, to leave his field advantage!" Black Mage called, and pointed to the ground, "Didn't it ever occur to you, in that ink-filled head of yours, why we'd take so much time to lead you here?"

"Take a look around, Kraken. The land around us is completely dry, and the ground soaked up whatever water you brought with you. You're as good as dead." Red Mage stated, but such threats didn't even phase Kraken, whose smile was still spread across his face.

"I have no concerns for your so-called field advantages." Kraken said, "For water can work with any element! Water is what controlled the eruption that led to Kary's death. Water is what's fueled the wind above the Sky Tower for so long. And my manipulation of the water is what caused Melmond to rot." Kraken looked up into the sky and finished with, "And it looks as though it will rain. So, I'll win anyway." As he spoke, Kraken failed to notice a tiny patch of blue in the thick clouds, and the patch began to expand quickly until sunlight started to come through.

"Oh, really, Kraken?" White Mage asked innocently, "Define what the conditions for rain is." Kraken suddenly looked up into the sky again, and his overconfidence was quickly replaced with fear.

"What? NO! How can this be?" Kraken asked, as he shielded himself from the light, "It's drying me up!" Sunlight blared through all over Kraken, and he began to shrink slightly.

"Now is our chance!" Thief called, "Attack with all your might!"

"Bolt3!" Both Black and Red Mage called out together, and several giant blasts of lightning hit Kraken as Thief did a jumping slash with his katana. White Mage used Harm2 to keep the sky shining as bright as possible on Kraken, who was starting to grow weaker and weaker until he could barely lift a tentacle. Black Mage looked at Red Mage, and they both nodded. Together, they formed a Bolt/Fire combination on Kraken. The fire burned off all of his tentacles and the bolt fueled the fire as Kraken's body began to burn aflame.

"I will not be defeated so easily!" Kraken screamed, trying to slither towards Red Mage and Thief. They merely stepped back out of Kraken's reach, as he roared with pain.

"We've already won, Kraken." Black Mage stated, smirking, "Your greed to kill us did you in." And Kraken saw that Black Mage was right as the last of his tentacles fell off, immobilizing him completely. But instead of crying or even screaming, Kraken merely laughed.

"Fools. You all are fools! The fiend of wind will avenge me!" Kraken yelled as he was slowly eaten by flames, "You will never stop Chaos from awakening... I PROMISE YOU THAT!" And finally, whatever was left of Kraken burned to ashes.

"Did we get him this time?" Thief asked, as Black Mage took a jug of empty Ether Dry and began filling it with Kraken's ashes.

"Sure looks like it." Black Mage said as he finished, "Anyway, just to make sure, we'd better go back to Gurgu and throw his ashes in. I'm sure Kary would love to see her killer defeated in his opposite element." White Mage nodded slowly in agreement as Black Mage began to walk southwest.

"But then what do we do after that?" White Mage asked, "Where do we go next?"

"Well, Kraken said that the last fiend is in the Sky Tower." Red Mage replied, "That's near Lufenia, so we should go to Lufenia and see if anyone has any suggestions."

"There's a problem with that." Black Mage stated, stopping to let his friends catch up, "Lufenia is surrounded completely with forests, and our airship can only land in the meadow. Not only that, but Sky Tower is supposedly surrounded by a vast desert and high cliffs all around." Thief had caught up first, and the group continued in their direction.

"I'm sure there's a way into the Tower. How would the fourth fiend get up there?" Thief asked.

"According to the old texts back at the White Institute, the fourth fiend was a dragon." White Mage remembered, "He probably flew."

"No biggie, then. We'll just take our airship." Thief concluded, but Black Mage scoffed.

"Didn't you hear me? Our ship can only land on meadows. Either way, we're not getting in." he mumbled, as the Highwind came into view.

"Regardless, let's just head to the Lufenian continent first. If that doesn't work, we'll go and see the Circle of Sages." Red Mage said, and added, "But not after we dump Kraken." Black Mage grinned as the four headed onto the ship. He sat at the table in the living room with Kraken's jug as White Mage laid on the couch. Thief went on the deck to keep a lookout, and Red Mage once again took control of steering. Within a minute, the airship hovered off of the ground and was heading southeast towards a familiar volcano, the final resting place for the Light Warrior's most devious enemy.

"On top of Mount Gurgu... Kraken lies dead..." Black Mage sang, as they flew.

---

Well, with the third fiend down, our heroes have three of the orbs lit! But, didn't they have to actually touch the Crystal to relight their orb? Or is it automatic when a fiend is killed? Well, they'll find out soon enough, so until next chapter, click that Review button!


	25. Learning new things everyday!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FF or 8-bit.

---

"Hey! BB, check it out! We're done with the town hall!" Fighter's voice boomed across the city towards Black Belt, who was busy managing the construction of a clinic. Putting down his clipboard, Black Belt walked over to where Fighter was and gasped. It was completed! The first floor was made of stone, but the rest was wood, and it was indeed a castle. A beautiful iron fence surrounded it, and gardens were off to either side.

"It's beautiful..." Black Belt murmured, "You guys did a good job! I'm impressed!"

"See? I told you I knew some people who could take care of this!" Sabin said proudly, dusting his hands off. And for once, Black Belt agreed.

"So, what do we do now? Should we start moving our furniture in?" Fighter asked, as he pulled around a box full of his swords. Black Belt shook his head.

"No. We need to start building some business establishments. I've already gotten a clinic started. Sabin, you should work on building a gym." Black Belt suggested, and Sabin was off to find recruits, "And you, Fighter... you should start on the weapon/armor shop." Fighter's face lit up like Rudolph's nose.

"Really? Me?" Fighter squeaked with joy, "I get to build a sword shop?"

"Not a sword shop. A weapon store. You'll be selling all kinds of weapons." Black Belt corrected, "I thought you'd be able to handle this job best." Fighter ran up and hugged Black Belt happily.

"Don't worry, buddy! I won't let you down!" Fighter said zealously, shaking Black Belt, "So, what should I do first? Gather recruits? Find wood?" Black Belt's face began to turn a slight blue color as he coughed out his response.

"Trying not to kill me is a good idea..." Black Belt wheezed. Fighter let him go and immediately ran off to find anyone who could help him, leaving Black Belt to go back to his clinic, "Soon, we can start living here! I'm so excited!"

---

"I see it! I can see the volcano!" Thief's voice came through the speaker as Red Mage steered gently, "Just a few more feet and we'll be right over the crater!" Red Mage nodded and turned behind him towards the open door.

"Did you hear that, BM? We're nearly there." Red Mage repeated, and heard Black Mage get up and grab something that he was sure was the bottle filled with Kraken's ash.

"I'll be heading up onto the deck then. You do remember that you just have to stop above the crater, right? We don't need to land." Black Mage reminded, and when he saw Red Mage nod, he opened the door to the deck and walked out. As he walked towards the railing, Black Mage saw Thief talking into the speaker, telling Red Mage to stop the ship for a minute. The ship came to a slow stop, and Black Mage opened up the bottle.

"So long, sushi master." Black Mage said, grinning. He was about to dump the contents when he put the lid back on, "On second thought, let's make sure nothing remains." With that, Black Mage threw the entire bottle down into the volcano and watched as the lava melted the glass. Feeling proud, Black Mage walked back into the ship with Thief and poked his head into the control room.

"Everything's done. Let's head to Lufenia now." Black Mage said. Red Mage gave the thumbs-up and began to steer the ship farther north and just a little past Pravoca. Black Mage returned to his seat and grabbed a can of soda. Thief had sat down over by the windowsill.

"So, where exactly IS Lufenia?" Thief asked, "I heard it's just a legendary city." White Mage put the book she was reading down.

"It's a town of White mages like myself." she said, "But most of the people there don't like being publicized, so we've had to hide the city with charms and spells." Suddenly, that struck a chord in Black Mage.

"Wait... Lufenia... Don't you also have some weird language you speak in?" Black Mage asked, "I've heard about a city with a similar name, and they also kept intruders out by composing a language crossing that of standard Japanese and an ancient language of the ancients."

"Yes, that's true." White Mage replied, "Most of the elders speak this language, so communication might be a problem for you." Thief moaned.

"So then what do we do? How can we learn this language?" he asked, smoothing out his bandana. White Mage looked thoughtfully towards the window.

"I'm not sure. There was a stone tablet that depicted the entire dictionary of my people, but I heard that after a misunderstanding, the tablet was banished to the deepest part of the ocean so no one could find it." White Mage explained. Red Mage, who'd been overhearing everything, shook his head grimly as he walked into the room.

"But the deepest part of the ocean was the Water Shrine, and it's in ruins now." Red Mage said, "It's suicide to go back there. WM, do you remember any of that language?" White Mage sighed heavily as she tried to think.

"A little, but I haven't spoken it since I was little." White Mage answered, "After my parents moved to Cherry Town, I didn't have a need for it." Thief got up and walked over to White Mage. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"WM, please. You have to remember! You're our only hope now." Thief said, "Unless we can find a way to contact some kind of scientist, you're the only one who knows the language!" White Mage looked very doubtful as she stared at the floor.

"I know... but I can't remember much." she said quietly. Red Mage walked quickly back to the control room.

"I'll see if I can get the radio to work. Maybe we can call Dr. Unne up back in Melmond. He said he was working on something about Lufenia." Red Mage said. Black Mage went inside to help him, leaving Thief to calm White Mage down.

"Let's hope he can get it working." Thief said, sitting on the couch. White Mage sat next to him.

"I'm sorry..." she said, "I didn't think we'd have to go to Lufenia, and if I knew I would've said something." Thief patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"It's not your fault." he reassured, "Besides, RM is going to fix the radio so you won't need to worry! He always comes through for us!" White Mage smiled, and looked towards the control room. Black Mage came out a minute later, and judging by the look on his face, the radio was fixed.

"We got it working! He's on the phone with Unne right now." Black Mage said, and gestured for the two to come by and listen to the conversation. It sounded like Dr. Unne was trying to explain something to Red Mage.

"That's really all I can do for you, Relik." Unne said through the radio, "I haven't been able to decode everything through text, so that device will just have to do." Black Mage saw Red Mage roll his eyes in frustration, but he tried to keep his control as he spoke to Unne.

"I suppose, but what happens if it breaks while we're trying to speak to someone? WM doesn't remember much about Lufenia, and none of us know anything about it either." Red Mage protested, slumping into a chair, "Isn't there a safeguard?" Everyone could hear Unne giving a heavy sigh over the radio.

"You're lucky if I can get it to go through the Teleporter to you. That's the best I can offer." Unne finally said after a minute of silence, "It's a delicate machine, but it's not hard to figure out. I'm sure the son of Cid Highwind Cratton, the world's greatest inventor, could easily fix it if it breaks." Red Mage jumped back in mild surprise and Black Mage was sure he was about to rip out the radio and throw it into the crater below, but he didn't. Instead, he spoke frantically into the radio.

"But Doctor, what if I don't..." Red Mage began, until Dr. Unne interrupted him by saying he had an appointment he had to keep. Then everyone heard the radio click off, and they scrambled back to their seats as Red Mage came stalking out, an uncharacteristically angry look on his face.

"So, what did he say?" Thief asked casually, as Red Mage fell into a recliner.

"He's sending over a prototype device so we can understand and speak Lufenish." Red Mage mumbled, "Only problem is that it's incredibly unstable. One shock, even a static touch, and it could break."

"It's better than nothing." Black Mage stated simply. Red Mage gave him a suspicious glance.

"That's exactly what he said..." Red Mage said slowly, "Did you listen to my conversation?"

"And what of it? Point is, we at least have something to help us. Plus Unne is right, RM. You're a technological genius compared to us. I'm sure whatever problems we do have CAN be fixed." Black Mage replied calmly, "It's just a matter of if you want to fix them." Red Mage nodded slowly. Black Mage did make a lot of sense, but he still had an inkling of a bad feeling. And that inkling grew as a small glass tube glowed blue for a second. Thief looked and saw that a small device, which looked like a cross between a stopwatch and a set of headphones had been teleported.

"I think this is from Dr. Unne." Thief said, as he opened the case and took the device out. He handed it to Red Mage, who examined it thoroughly. The front had a monitor with some sort of scanning LED screen, and the back had a battery-pack and a few wires coming out of it. He laughed when he was done.

"Dr. Unne was right. This isn't hard to figure out at all." Red Mage said, "Look here, the wires are all exposed. If I can just find a covering, maybe some electrical tape, then we don't need to worry about a short-circuit." Black Mage walked over to a desk and looked inside the drawers. There was nothing useful in the first three, but the fourth held a small roll of duct tape.

"Will this work?" Black Mage asked, throwing the roll to Red Mage, who caught it and nodded. He began to tape the wires to the back, making sure to leave the battery-pack clear and to cover every wire. Finally, he put the device down.

"It's done. Now to just sit back and wait for the auto-pilot to get to Lufenia." Red Mage said, sitting back down in a chair. White Mage looked at the device with confusion.

"So, how does it work, exactly?" she asked, "How can it affect all of us? Or does it only affect the wearer?"

"I'm not sure. It looks like the antenna might produce something that causes everyone's brainwaves to connect to each other and somehow make it so we all can understand each other, no matter what language we speak." Red Mage explained, "Of course, this is just speculation. I'm not sure how this sort of thing would work."

"Hey, if it does work, couldn't we just negotiate with the last fiend and see if they might be interested in a truce?" Thief suggested, but Black Mage frowned, "Oh, just hear me out, BM. Think about it. Lich just wanted to get some sleep, and Kary tried to help us out. Only Kraken proved to be a real threat. I'm starting to wonder if the fiends are really evil or not." Black Mage raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"And you think they're good at heart?" he asked, in the most unbelieving tone he could. Thief shook his head.

"I'm not saying that. I just mean, think of the odds. Kary was a good guy, and Lich wasn't too evil, either. Even Garland wasn't too bad. Granted, he was stupid, but not evil." Thief reminded him, "The sages said the fourth fiend was a dragon, and dragons also have their own language. What I'm saying is, if we can use this device, we can talk to the last fiend. It might be like Kary." White Mage bit her lip and looked down, trying to think of a gentle way to talk Thief out of such an idea.

"Thief..." she started calmly, "I'm not saying you're wrong. Enemies have surprised us before, but the chance of another Kary is highly improbable. You've heard the sages. The fourth fiend is also the oldest. For all we know, it might be the one who started this mess in the first place." Thief looked down as well.

"I know, but it was just a thought." he said, folding his hands in his lap. Red Mage walked towards the door and opened it.

"And it's a valid one. I see your point, Thief." Red Mage admitted, "If all else fails, we'll attempt a negotiation. But as of now, we need to find a way to get into the Sky Tower at all, and the Lufenians are the only ones who know. So, to Lufenia!" Red Mage walked out onto the deck as the ship landed in a small clearing surrounded on all sides by forests. He jumped off the deck as the other three warriors walked out, and they followed suit to keep up.

"Well, this is convenient..." Black Mage mumbled, as he dusted off his robes and looked about, "This must be how the Lufenians keep intruders out." Everyone nodded in silent agreement. From the forests, they could see shadows, and they were definitely sure enemies were lurking around. Bravely, Red Mage took the lead, drawing out his sword. Thief came in second with his katana, and the two mages brought up the rear.

"Anyone know which way to head?" Thief whispered, as they came to a small lake. Red Mage gulped as he tried to think. The shadows crept slowly closer, and he heard rustling in the bushes. Finally, he threw logic aside and just ran south like his guts told him. Everyone else ran to keep up, for fear they might get separated. But after a few minutes, that fear was replaced with a fear of getting lost entirely.

"RM, are you sure this is the right way?" Black Mage asked, "It's getting darker!" Red Mage was about to answer when he slammed into someone. But as he looked up to apologize, he nearly screamed. The person he'd run into was a ZomBull, who were only more vicious than the Bulls he remembered in the Earth Cave. The other three came to a screeching halt as they saw him. The ZomBull looked down at them all.

"Well, this is a surprise. How'd humans get into our forest?" he asked, "Hey, Bob, check it out! Some humans got lost here!" The warriors turned and saw that Bob was a troll who obviously had a bad hair day. He walked up to them and took a good look at them.

"Well, I'll be! We haven't had any visitors here for... Chaos, it must've been nearly 50 years now!" The troll exclaimed, "How'd you all get here?" Red Mage scrambled to his feet and sheathed his sword.

"We're looking for the town of Lufenia." he said, trying to keep their mission from slipping out. The ZomBull looked thoughtful for a minute, and then turned to his friend, the troll. The troll seemed just as confused, and then snapped his fingers.

"You mean that town full of those mages? Well, we can take you there!" he said enthusiastically, "Of course, there's not much there now, the fiend of wind accidentally crashed into the city the other day." Black Mage raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Accidentally? How can you accidentally destroy a city?" he asked angrily.

"Something's been going on with her for a while, she can't see where she's going." the ZomBull replied, "I think she might be going blind, or even senile. She keeps wanting us to call her Mat or Matti. Anyway, we'll explain the rest on the way, so let's go." With that, the two monsters led the party through the forest and explained as best as they could about the fiend of wind. Apparently, Thief's instincts about her were right.

"Wait a second. You mean she's trying to help us by restoring the wind?" Red Mage asked, "She's trying to get the crystal to shine by herself?" The troll nodded.

"Yeah. She polishes it, cleans it, hell, she even tried to move it outside to see if that would work. But she can't do anything." the troll explained, "She told us that there are four heroes who can help her, so we're starting to think that's you guys." Black Mage wasn't the least bit convinced, even as White Mage and Thief smiled happily.

"But why would she help us? Wasn't she the one creating these problems in the first place?" Black Mage asked, annoyed. The monsters helped the party across a large ravine before answering.

"Yeah, but that wasn't because of evil. That was all an emotional rampage." the troll replied, "A while ago, she was traveling with friends of her own, but something happened. Some kind of fight broke out and they all left. Out of frustration, she let loose a bit of her power, not realizing she'd be hurting people."

"And now that she knows she is, she wants to fix it..." Red Mage concluded, "Makes sense..." At that point, the monsters stopped and turned to the warriors.

"We gotta stop here. A pact between us and the humans says that we can't go into town." the ZomBull said, "I hope you guys can help the fiend of wind." With that, the two monsters ran off. Red Mage nodded in silent promise as he walked into Lufenia with his friends. And, just as the monsters said, it was in near ruins. Houses were smashed, shops had been taken out, and only the town square remained in one piece. Before going in, Red Mage put on Dr. Unne's device, and walked up to a random mage.

"Excuse me, but could you tell us what happened?" he asked. At first, he was sure the mage wouldn't understand or even answer him, but he was surprised when she turned around.

"It was horrible, sir. The fiend of wind crashed right into town." she explained, "We're sure we've angered her, but the odd thing is, she left suddenly. She didn't take any prisoners." She saw White Mage behind Thief and exclaimed, "Anna, is that you?" White Mage nodded.

"It's good to see you too, Maria." White Mage said, "But I must leave soon again. We're here to find out how to get into the Sky Tower." Maria's eyes widened.

"So you really _are_ a hero now... Amazing!" Maria said, "I'm sure the elder can help you." With that, she grabbed White Mage's hand and dragged her towards a rather old man. Thief, Red, and Black Mage all ran to keep up, and stopped as they heard the elder speak.

"I see, Anna. You've come quite far, and I shouldn't stop you." he said, taking out a small trinket, "But it's quite dangerous, my dear. Few have been able to return from Sky Tower once they've gone in. Are you sure you want to try?" White Mage nodded sternly.

"I have to. Besides, I have my friends with me. We've already defeated the other three fiends." she replied, and held out the lit orbs to prove it. The elder examined them, then reluctantly gave White Mage the trinket, which was actually a small chime.

"You must travel to Yuken Desert to the south and ring this chime as you get there." the elder explained, "This is the key into the tower's base. Once inside, you must find the warp cube to activate the road to the castle above it. Good luck, Anna." White Mage nodded and turned to reunite with her friends.

"We're all set then." she said, "Should we go?"

"Hold on, I still have some questions! Like, what the hell is going on with the fiend!" Black Mage boomed angrily, but White Mage begged him to quiet down.

"I know. I want to know too, but the elder is getting old. We'll find out at the tower anyway, so let's just go." she said. Black Mage stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked out of the city with his friends. The journey back to the airship proved to be a peaceful one, mainly because no one was attacked. Red Mage ran up into the ship as soon as he saw it and ran into the control room. He started the engine up as Thief was the last to board, and closed the door to the inside.

"Everyone hold on. Next stop, the Yuken Desert." Red Mage said, as Thief picked up the microphone and talked into it.

"So, for your safety, please fasten all seat belts and make sure everything is securely bolted into the ground. Turn off all devices and cell phones, and we here at RM flights encourage you to stop reading, as any distraction may screw up our current mission. Thank you, and enjoy the ride!" Thief added, laughing as he finished. Black and White Mage both threw pillows at him, knocking him into the couch.

"You really shouldn't be a commentary." Black Mage teased, taking the microphone away.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" Thief cried. Everyone laughed, as they felt the trip to the desert would be a peaceful one. Despite the fact that they had the last fiend to deal with, no one felt nervous. Maybe that was what they needed...

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Well, there they go towards the Sky Tower! Can they get inside? And if they do, can they find the cube? What's wrong with the fiend of wind? Is she another ally like Thief wanted? Or is she trying to trick our heroes? Anyway, find out the answers next chapter, so click that Review button!


	26. Outer space and the Stars BEYOND!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FF or 8-bit. I've tried the new reply system, but you all need to email me to talk because the system doesn't seem to work.

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"Okay, report call!" Black Belt called on a megaphone, as everyone put down their tools and looked towards the blue-suit-bearing hero, "Sabin, status report on the gym!" Everyone then turned to Sabin, who had just finished Bum Rushing a tree. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled.

"Everything's going as planned. I have the first floor built and the second is nearly complete." Sabin replied. Black Belt grinned and boomed into the megaphone again.

"Good! Iris, status report on the residential areas!" Black Belt boomed. The girl reploid from earlier chapters waved cheerfully.

"We have over five houses built! And Zero's finishing another one as we speak!" Iris chirped happily, and a minute later, Black Belt saw a roof being lowered, and a small crowd of people behind were cheering and throwing confetti. Black Belt's grin grew.

"Wonderful news! Nathan, how's the interior to the town hall coming along?" Black Belt asked. Nathan, who'd been busy painting, popped his head out of a second story window and gave the thumbs-up.

"I'm all done here! We just need to let the paint dry, and then we can move in here." Nathan replied excitedly. However, through sheer excitement, Nathan lost his footing and fell out of the window, landing on Black Belt. People gasped as Nathan got up, saying "Sorry, boss."

"It's okay." Black Belt mumbled, dusting himself off, "Now we just need the report on the weaponry, and we'll be set for now. Fighter, how's it going over there?" Everyone turned one last time to a lone building all the way towards the back. It was dusty, dark, and it didn't look like anyone was working on it. Black Belt scratched his head.

"Where _is_ Fighter?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Everyone else murmured and mumbled about something, but no one gave a direct answer. That is, until they saw Fighter running up the hills, screaming.

"_RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!_" Fighter screamed, "_IT'S COMING! THE MAD OSCAR IS COMING!_" Remembering that Mad Oscars are among the most deadly of creatures, everyone began to run, scream, shriek, and basically have a panic attack. People ran into the houses, jumped into the fountain, hid in trash cans, or just up and left town. Only Black Belt and Fighter remained. Black Belt sighed.

"Well, you really did it this time, Fighter. Now we have no crew and the town's probably going to be destroyed _again_. Any words?" Black Belt asked. Fighter nodded nervously and grinned.

"Bring lots of breath mints?" Fighter joked, laughing nervously. But judging by the look on Black Belt's face, he didn't share the humor. Fighter hung his head as the two waited for what was inevitably their own boss battle.

---

"Are we there yet?" Black Mage asked, breaking the silence to the peaceful journey, "We've been flying around for over three hours!" For probably the 50th time this trip, Black Mage looked out the window and sighed angrily, slumping into his chair.

"I can see mountains up ahead, maybe it's past there." Red Mage tried to reassure, but even White Mage was beginning to doubt him.

"RM, that's what you said an hour ago. Are you sure we're not lost?" she asked gently. A roll of sweat came down Red Mage's face as he sped the ship to get through faster, and was relieved to see the entire area covered with sand. Only a small clearing to the right lay some grass, so Red Mage maneuvered to park there. Black Mage and Thief jumped up in glee when they heard the engine being shut off, and burst through the door and into the expanse of the desert.

"Finally! I thought we'd be trapped in that hellhole forever!" Black Mage exclaimed happily, taking deep lungfulls of air. White Mage walked out, followed by Red Mage. She brought out a small crystal chime, and looked around carefully for something. Thief watched her for a minute and finally had to ask.

"WM, what're you looking for?" he asked, "This is the right desert, right?" White Mage nodded before answering.

"Yes, it is. But I'm looking for the tower. It should be here." White Mage said, and she sounded a bit troubled. Black Mage realized that he didn't see any tower either.

"Do you think maybe the sandstorms decimated it?" he asked calmly, "This is a barren wasteland, and the weather is harsh." Red Mage knelt down and gently picked up a bit of sand. It felt dry, but a bit heavier than it really should be. He also noted that the air was dry as well, and no wind seemed to be entering the desert, hence the tall mountains surrounding it.

"I don't think that was it. The conditions aren't right for a sandstorm, not even a small one." Red Mage replied, and added, "Try ringing the chime right now, WM. The elder just said we need to be in the desert, not in the center, right?" White Mage hesitantly held the chime in her hand.

"He didn't say anything about the center... all right, I'll try it." she agreed, and rang the chime. For a chime so small, it made a lot of noise as it rang all across the desert. And, the farther away the sound got, the more powerful it sounded. But as it passed the mountains, silence slowly took its place, at least for the moment. By now, though, the four warriors knew how this worked, and waiting moments before even suggesting to leave. After three minutes of pure silence, the ground began to crack. The four ran back a bit, allowing the sand to crumble as a large tower protruded from the ground. Everyone stared at the tower as it finished rising from the ground, the sun gleaming off of it. And, in the middle of the wall, a door appeared out of thin air.

"Think it's safe to go in?" Thief whispered. Red Mage tilted his hat, drew his sword, and walked in without giving an answer. In a way, that told the other three to follow him. As they all walked into the tower, the air became much colder and stiffer. And it smelled of earth, of strong, powerful earth.

"Let's find this fiend quickly. I'm not sure I like it in here." Black Mage complained, as Red Mage checked out two roads they'd come to. One was a dead end, so he ran down the other road, the other three at his heels. It was only when they'd come to another crossroad that they realized they were in a maze.

"Aw man! A maze!" Thief moaned, "How can we find the cube in one of these?" Red Mage, who everyone thought had taken to silence, finally spoke.

"Just follow me. The dead ends are relatively short, but I can see them from the crossroad. But we have to move quickly. Did you see the timer on the walls? That's how much time we have until this place sinks into the sand again." Red Mage said. Thief snapped his fingers.

"So that's why you're giving us the silence treatment! It saves time!" Thief exclaimed.

" I figured that if you really wanted me to talk, you'd let me know. But other than that, yeah, it saves time. But quickly, before we run out of time." Red Mage pressed, and ran ahead again. Very quickly, he led his team up the stairs onto the second floor. At first everyone was worried they'd have to go through another maze, but as soon as Red Mage saw a large break in the wall, he ordered Black Mage to use Fire3. The wall crumbled as soon as the fireball hit, revealing the stairways. Red Mage ran up, and was relieved to see the third floor was but a single room.

"Are we out yet?" White Mage asked as she walked into the room, "...Red Mage?" Red Mage's look crossed into a confused expression as he walked into the center of the room. Thief came in and stopped next to White Mage.

"What's wrong, buddy?" he asked, noticing the troubled look on Red Mage's face.

"The cube... we haven't found the cube yet." Red Mage said, "But there haven't been any chests or containers, so I doubt we missed it." Black Mage finally came up, a look of annoyance from what he just heard upon his face.

"Should we just go back down and find it?" he suggested, but Red Mage shook his head.

"We don't have the time. But it _must_ be _somewhere_! Maybe there are some clues here...?" Red Mage stopped as he noticed his friends had become very pale, "Guys, what's wrong?" Thief, who was probably the bravest of them all, pointed a shaky hand behind Red Mage and tried to mumble something, but it was too gurgled to make sense. Red Mage gulped, and stiffly turned around only to come face to face with a giant robot. It was black, with eyes that flashed pure red. Steam billowed from behind it, giving it an even more sinister appearance.

"_AHHHHH! OH MY LORD, RUN!_" Red Mage screamed, but neither he nor his friends could move, in fear of whatever this thing was. It slowly marched forward, making Red Mage quiver in fear until it was close enough to launch an attack. But instead, it held out its hand. And inside was a cube made of pure quartz.

"Human... are you the one they seek?" the robot asked, in a metallic yet deep voice. Somehow, that calmed Red Mage down enough to move.

"The... the one they seek? Who are they?" Red Mage asked.

"The Lufenians. They are my masters, and I have sworn to help stop the fiend of air." the robot replied, "But I am unable to reach the tower. Only a being chosen by the prophecy can use the Cube." Thief blinked.

"And you think that's RM?" Thief asked, raising an eyebrow. The robot didn't nod, but more steam began to pour out of it.

"Isn't it? He's come to the tower, and has found me, the holder of the Cube." The robot explained, "I am no longer capable of protecting this cube, but I know you are the ones. Please... use... it..." Red Mage noticed the robot's eyes were beginning to dim, and the steam stopped completely. The robot then fell over, and didn't get up. It was dead, its life completely put out, and with no way to recharge. White Mage walked over and knelt next to it.

"...you weren't a bad person..." she said, sadly. Red Mage reached into its hand and took the cube. Then he walked up to the small pedestal in the center of the room. There was a perfect hole in the pedestal, just big enough for the cube to fit into it.

"Come on... we must keep moving." he said quietly. Black Mage and Thief headed up onto the small platform, and White Mage dried her tears before joining her friends. Red Mage gently put the cube into the hole, and instantly the cube exploded with light as it transformed into a portal, which sucked the four into it and closed itself up completely.

"Uhn... huh?" Thief opened his eyes slowly, and looked around, "Where are we? RM? BM? WM? Are you all okay?" Red Mage had landed only a few feet away, and was waking up as well. Black Mage was pacing around the small room, and White Mage was just waiting. When Black Mage saw that Thief was up, he stopped pacing.

"It's about time you two got up! We've been waiting for over an hour!" Black Mage cried, throwing his hands up. Red Mage rubbed his eyes as he got up off the floor.

"Where are we?" he asked, rather sluggishly too. White Mage unfolded her arms.

"I think we're in the Sky Castle." she replied, and walked over to the window, "Just come here and see for yourself." Red Mage walked over to the window and looked out, only to jump back and gasp.

"We're... We're in outer Space!" Red Mage exclaimed, "But... but how? Is Sky Castle really that far up?"

"It freaked us out too, but when you think about it, it's not all too surprising." Black Mage said, "The fiend of air probably gets her power from being up here. Speaking of her, should we find her?" Red Mage snapped his attention away from the window.

"Probably. But still, this sight amazes me! If only I brought a camera..." Red Mage said, turning to the window again, but he stopped himself, "Uh... anyway, yes. Let's go." With that, he dragged himself out the only door he found. The other three looked at each other with worried glances, but Thief shrugged it off and told them to follow Red Mage before he got too far away. As it turned out, though, the first floor to the castle was a simple hallway, and Red Mage stood just at the other end.

"What're you waiting for? Go up!" Black Mage hissed as they came towards him. Red Mage glanced at him, and pointed to a small sign above the door.

"I'd like to, but we've reached a snag." Red Mage said, "Apparently we need a key card to get in, but we don't have one. And I can't find it around here." Red Mage pointed along the hallway, and made it clear that besides the houseplants near the room they exited, there was really no place to put a key card.

"But it has to be somewhere! What if we check in the room?" White Mage suggested, turning around to go back towards their room. Black Mage quickly stopped her.

"Oh, for the love of Chaos! It's just a damn door! Anything can knock it over! Watch!" Black Mage cried, and aimed something at the locked door, "FIRE3!" And, as with the wall he blew up in the tower, the door blew apart on contact with the fireball. Thief wiped the side with his hand and whistled.

"Wow, that's amazingly effective!" Thief commented afterwards. Black Mage brushed past him and up the set of stairs.

"Wondrous, isn't it? Now move it before I blow _you_ to pieces." Black Mage threatened. Thief ran up as Red Mage helped White Mage along, but they stopped again when they saw the third floor. Everything looked exactly the same. Red Mage ran down one hallway, only to end up right where he started.

"So, it loops." Red Mage mumbled, "I can see why people are afraid of this place."

"How do we know which way is what?" Thief asked, and panic seemed to have settled in him. Black Mage looked down the halls carefully.

"We could mark the windows we pass. That way we'll know if we've been somewhere." he suggested, and put a tiny dot on the window they were currently in front of. Thief snapped his fingers happily.

"Ingenious! Now we'll be sure to get out!" he exclaimed, as he ran down the hall with Black Mage, who stuck another dot on another window. White Mage was about to follow, when she noticed Red Mage wasn't moving.

"RM, is something wrong?" she asked calmly. Red Mage nodded, and walked down the hallway with White Mage slowly.

"Yes. Somehow I don't think the solution is as easy as marking a few windows." he replied, skeptically, "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try... eh... Thief? Where's Black Mage?" Thief, who'd been standing there waiting, looked at Red Mage with uncertainty.

"He went down this hallway, because we found the window we already marked. But I think something's wrong. I can hear him cursing from here." Thief stated. Red Mage listened closely, and definitely heard Black Mage screaming at something. A minute later, Black Mage was walking up the hallway towards them, and his expression was very sour.

"Marking the windows does squat. They're all the same now. We've marked them all, and we've successfully screwed ourselves with this!" Black Mage cried, throwing a small rock at one of the windows. Unfortunately, this set off the alarms for a few guards down the halls.

"Oh great! There's a bunch of them too!" Thief said, as he saw a legion of guards running towards him, "Run!"

"We can't, this way's blocked too!" White Mage cried back, as another group of dark guards circled them. Black Mage muttered under his breath as they came to a halt. One of the guards, who Red Mage assumed was a commander, took a step up. But instead of drawing his lance, he bowed politely.

"Goodness! A visitor in the castle? Quite a rare sight indeed." he said, making the heroes give quizzical looks, "Oh, my apologies. I haven't properly introduced us. I am Captain George Lark of the Sky Welcoming Committee. We're here to help any visitors find their way around. Can we help you?" Red Mage was too frozen to speak, so Black Mage took the liberty for him.

"You can start by getting the hell away." he began darkly, "For if you try to hurt us, I'll simply have to kill you." The captain's eyes widened with fear as he clutched his helmet.

"Hurt you? Why on earth would we do that? We're civilized citizens of this castle! Queen Tiamat wouldn't _stand_ for needless bloodshed!" the captain cried, his voice becoming shaky. Thief looked at Black Mage.

"Queen Tiamat?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Must be the name of the fiend we have to slaughter." Black Mage whispered, and turned back to the terrified captain, "Listen up, peon. Tell us where this supposed queen is, and I might just spare you until she's dead." The captain at this point passed out completely, so another dark knight behind him took the task of negotiation.

"Sorry, sir. But that's not possible." he said, in an odd Australian accent.

"Why not?" Red Mage asked gently, as not to scare this knight too. The knight took out a small book and opened it up.

"Because. You can't see our queen until you've made an appointment. Your name's not on the list!" the knight replied. Black Mage twitched and blew up the book, making the knight jump back, and crash into his brethren, causing everyone to fall over.

"Appoint _this_, you pathetic little ingrate! We're the Light Warriors, and if we want to see the queen, we're going to see the damn queen! Get it?" Black Mage asked, dragging the knight directly so he could make eye contact. The knight tried to loosen his grip, until Black Mage dropped him. He got up and coughed.

"The... The Light Warriors?" he coughed, and added quickly, "Of COURSE you can see the queen! She told us to let you in as soon as you all arrived! Right this way!" The dark knight beckoned for the warriors to follow him as he walked down he hallway, turned left, and actually went through a window into another large hallway. The warriors went in, and gasped at the vastness of the room. The bridge across it seemed to go on forever, and they were so high up that they could just barely make out the room below. The knight stood by the bridge and saluted.

"Right this way to the throne, good sirs!" he said. Red Mage thanked him and got onto the bridge. Along with his friends, he walked down it, his only thought being what the queen would look like. And when he finally managed to make it to the end, nothing prepared him for what he saw. The queen wasn't a large dragon, but rather a hydra with dragon wings. Her skin shined blue, and her neck was covered in jewelry. Just as Thief approached, she spoke.

"Who is there?" she asked, in a calm yet commanding voice. Red Mage could see that she had tiny glasses on her face. But, in all her glory, he was too speechless to answer. And seeing as how no one else said anything, he guessed his friends were too.

"Please answer thy call. Who is in thy domain? Why hast thou awakened thee?" she asked. Again, no one could answer. And Red Mage realized that everyone was looking at him. Gathering his courage, he would attempt to talk to a dragon. No, not just a dragon, a _goddess_, even. He took a step forward, preparing for the worst...

---

Well, it looks like our heroes finally found the last fiend! But, is she good or evil? Will she roast them to bits? Can they stop the terrible gales that have threatened Lufenia? And how's Cherry Town going to fare? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!


	27. Familiar stories, familiar threats

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any FF games, and because of the big dudes on this site, I can't do much except thank you all for your support. I never realized my FF story would be this awesome. And no, RM IS NOT paired up with Tiamat. I will never own THAT pairing.

---

"Aw man, I HATE these things!" Black Belt yelled, as he punched another Mad Oscar in the face. It had been two hours since Fighter had brought news of the world's deadliest monster, and Black Belt had just killed over seven of them. Fighter, who wasn't nearly as skilled, could only deflect its attacks.

"Stay strong, BB! We have to hold them off until Sabin comes back!" Fighter called back, stabbing another Oscar with his blade.

"News flash. _SABIN'S NOT COMING BACK!_" Black Belt screamed, "He ran for the hills when you came back! EVERYONE ran for the hills! We're the only ones left!"

"Well, at least no one will get in our way then." Fighter replied brightly, but that only seemed to make Black Belt angrier. But just then, a giant meteor slammed into multiple Oscars, wiping most of the ones in view out. Black Belt, who was just about to scream at Fighter, merely left his mouth agape.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, looking around. Then Fighter pointed out a lone figure walking towards them. She had long black hair, and was wearing a black dress with a ton of belts on her skirt. To set her odd style just right, she was carrying a moogle doll.

"Do you gentlemen need some help?" she asked, "I heard the Oscars all the way from my island home, and came to help." Black Belt smiled and explained the situation, but Fighter simply stood there, thunderstruck.

"All right, so you're saying that your friend angered them?" the lady asked.

"Yes. This doofus right here has been nothing but trouble." Black Belt replied, pointing to Fighter, who looked like he might have been daydreaming.

"I see. Well, if I'm to help you, can I get your names?" she asked, "I'm Lulu." Black Belt held out his hand and Lulu shook it.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Black Belt, the leader of this... well, WAS the leader of what was supposed to be a city." Black Belt said, and turned sharply to Fighter after a minute of silence, "Say something!"

"Duuuuuurrhhh..." Fighter said, until Black Belt snapped his fingers, "You're real pretty, Lulu." This statement alone made Lulu realize maybe she should've just stayed home as the Oscars marched onward.

---

"Hast thou the ability to speak to thee?" The queen asked, as Red Mage approached the throne. He knelt down, and took off his hat before responding.

"Forgive me, my lady. I did not expect to meet the fiend of wind." Red Mage replied politely, choosing his words carefully in fear of offending her, "We are the Light Warriors, on a simple quest to help the people of Lufenia." The queen considered this carefully, and finally waved her hand in the air.

"Ah, I hath been expecting you." she said, "I am to guess this has something to do with thy crystal of air?" Thief, who couldn't control himself, walked up next to Red Mage.

"Actually, your highness, we came to find out why the gales are becoming so strong. The people of Lufenia are suffering, but they can't do anything because they're worried about your health." Thief explained. Red Mage's eyes widened, for he was sure the queen would torch them now. But instead, she chuckled.

"Ah, yes. I've noticed that the people do not revolt, even though I am indeed a fiend." she said, "Now, I do not wish to fight, so please state your case." Red Mage cleared his throat with relief and continued.

"We are sure this isn't a fault of yours intentionally, but we must ask, my lady. Is there something wrong? A health problem?" Red Mage asked.

"Please, call me Tiamat. We haven't the time for formalities." Tiamat said, "And yes, there is a problem. Many years ago, I too took the same journey to help find the crystals, with the thought that we were protecting them. However, when I found out this was not the case, I suggested we each protect our own crystal, so that even if one of us falls, the other crystals will be well away from one another." White Mage remembered frantically what Kraken said.

"But Tiamat, Kraken double-crossed you!" she said worriedly, "He... he killed Kary... and he's the reason Melmond was rotting..." White Mage tried to wipe away the tears in her eyes, but it was in vain as she began to remember all of what Kraken had told them.

"It's true, Tiamat. We saw Kary die with our own eyes, and Kraken told us everything. He manipulated the water to kill her, and he drained the earth of water to weaken Lich." Red Mage added, "He was planning on taking all of the crystals to unleash Chaos." Tiamat began to look worried, but tried to keep it under control as she asked her next question.

"And where is he now? And the other crystals?" she asked.

"Oh, we kicked Kraken's ass in six seconds. He's fried to a crisp." Black Mage replied proudly, "As for the crystals, they're relit and we have three of the orbs lit up too." Black Mage took out the orb of earth as Thief took out the orb of water. Red Mage gave Tiamat the orb of fire, which she examined carefully.

"For now, then, we are safe." she said, "If you've defeated Kraken, then there is no need to worry about Chaos for now, though he will come soon. But for now, we have more pressing matters." Red Mage nodded.

"You mean Lufenia?" he asked, but Tiamat shook her head.

"No. We must see this in a larger scale. But before we can figure out what to do next, tell me all that you can about what you've learned of the previous fiends." Tiamat said, "They each hold something more valuable to defeat Chaos than any crystal."

"Well, Lich wasn't really too much of a challenge. In fact, he kind of killed himself." Black Mage said, "Outwitting him wasn't hard."

"But Kary was willing to help us. And for some reason, Kraken felt he had to kill her." Thief said, "But that's what we can't figure out. Why would he kill a fellow fiend?" Tiamat adjusted her glasses before answering.

"Because he works for Chaos. He is the one who began our journey to collecting the crystals in the first place... and we never realized all this time he was using us." Tiamat began to explain, "You see, after we went our own ways, I still kept in touch with Kary. She was my best friend. I told her what I found out, and we both decided that Chaos must never be unleashed."

"But if you're fiends, isn't Chaos your friend?" Black Mage asked. Tiamat shook her head grimly.

"No. Far from it. We were nothing more than sacrifices to him, with Kraken being the only exception for his work. And, with our powers, Chaos would've been able to crush anything. The world as we knew it would've been destroyed completely." Tiamat said, "We fiends do not even come from this time. You see, in our time, we succeeded in getting the crystals, only to realize the horrible mistake we made." Black Mage waved his hand tiredly.

"And let me guess, Kraken double-crossed you then, too." he said. Tiamat nodded.

"Yes. He stole the crystals and fled to the Temple of Fiends to summon Chaos. But Kary found a plan to stop him. Together, she, Lich, and I created a machine to transport us into the future. We took the crystals back and hid them in a time so far into the future that Kraken wouldn't find them." Tiamat said, but she looked even more depressed than before.

"But it didn't work. Kraken's obvious proof of that." White Mage stated, "What happened?"

"Kraken forced it out of Lich. Drove the poor soul crazy, and left him in the dying lands of Melmond in the future as punishment for his betrayal. But he had even worse punishment for Kary and I." Tiamat explained again, "But luckily, we were able to help Lich recover some of his mind. We told him that four warriors would come to help us stop Kraken."

"But he seemed completely insane when we fought him. Did he really know?" Thief asked. Tiamat nodded again, and looked at a picture of Lich on her wall.

"He knew quite well. That's why he put up no challenge at all. He knew he hadn't any time left, and so he made you think he was crazy so you would take the crystal's light with no hesitation. Unlike Kary and I, it never fully occurred to him to help you." Tiamat said, "But we were all on your side." The four warriors looked at each other in complete confusion as they processed what Tiamat had told them. Although her story cleared up some earlier questions, it also brought more riddles that had to be solved.

"Tiamat, if you were traveling to help stop the crystals, who was back in time working the machine?" Red Mage asked, "Maybe if we had a lead to go by, we'd be able to permanently stop Chaos." Tiamat seemed to consider the idea, but there was a flaw. She couldn't remember anyone who'd be able to run the machine.

"Time travel does a bit of damage to one's mind. It can erase certain memories if the traveler isn't careful..." Tiamat said, sadly, "I could not even remember my husband's name." Red Mage and White Mage patted Tiamat comfortingly, but Black Mage merely scoffed.

"That's a pretty convenient thing to forget, isn't it?" Black Mage asked, "Not remembering who helped you get here? That could be a simple cover-up for whoever is really behind this."

"_Black Mage!_" Red Mage hissed angrily, then turned to the queen, "I'm sorry... lately, we've had so many mysteries and unanswered questions, it's hard to tell who we can actually trust." Tiamat smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Believe me, I would distrust you if I were in your place." she said, "However, I'm not to ask you to trust me, but I will hand over the Crystal of air if it means stopping Chaos." A smile of relief passed White Mage and Thief, and even Red Mage was glad that Tiamat was so willing to help. But Black Mage wasn't convinced at all. He was still sure she was hiding something.

"Guys, stop!" Black Mage exclaimed angrily, when his friends were practically dancing, "Something's still bugging me. Tiamat, don't mind me asking, but IF you're a fiend, WHY are you helping us? Why do you want to stop Chaos? I know he'll sacrifice you, but in essences, wouldn't you be acquiring ultimate power?" The other three stopped dancing and turned to look at Tiamat. The old dragon sighed heavily, and six of her seven heads closed their eyes.

"What is a fiend, but a person of which no one wants to understand?" Tiamat asked, calmly, "We fiends are like you humans. We have minds and feelings, just as you. We are just different, that is why we're fiends. Not because of our hearts, but because of our looks." Red Mage smiled at hearing the statement, but Black Mage's frown simply grew.

"We aren't here for riddles, old-timer." he stated simply. Tiamat put her claw to her forehead as though she had a headache, but she continued.

"You misunderstand me. Our minds are still pure even though we are different. None of us, with the exception of Kraken, protected the crystals to absorb their power. We sought to protect this world, which we love so dearly. It was this planet that allowed us to live even though we were hated by humans." Tiamat replied, just as calmly as before, "We didn't think for a second to revive Chaos until Kraken brought it up. That was when the great fight between us all broke out. Because only one of us wanted to destroy the world." Thief suddenly remembered something from quite a while ago.

"Wait... this sounds familiar." he said. White Mage agreed as well.

"A great fight... wasn't this what Mat told us back in Elfheim?" White Mage asked, and Tiamat chuckled.

"I see you do remember my clone." she said, and pointed a claw towards a back wall. There stood a large table, but in the middle was a single crystal globe, and in that globe, was a miniature dragon, Mat. Thief ran over and poked the globe.

"It's Mat! But... Tiamat... that was _you_ who helped us?" Thief asked. The old dragon nodded shyly.

"Yes. But I knew that I couldn't reveal my true name, so I used a new alias to talk to you." Tiamat admitted.

"Then why couldn't you tell us this crap earlier?" Black Mage asked, placing his hands on his hips. Tiamat snapped her fingers and the globe merely vanished.

"Because Mat is completely comprised of my magic, which as you can see, has its limits. If I were to explain to you the complexity of our origins, it would use so much of my magic that I would most likely have passed away before you could claim the Crystal of Air, and it would have left my crystal vulnerable to Kraken." Tiamat explained, and Black Mage nodded with understanding, "Speaking of the Crystal, I fear there is no time left to talk. As we speak, I can feel Chaos stirring in my original time, trying to rip through the gates of time. Come." With that, Tiamat hoisted herself off the throne, and climbed over towards a large door. Speaking in the ancient language of the dragons, she opened the door and crawled in, the four warriors right behind her. There, in the middle of the room, stood the large crystal, spinning in a gentle motion and emitting small bursts of wind.

"This is it... this is the last one before we can stop Chaos..." Red Mage commented, as he gazed at the large crystal. Tiamat nodded firmly, and with little effort, took the crystal gently off its altar and held it out towards Red Mage.

"You must stop Chaos. He was too powerful, and even though you have all of the orbs relit, and the crystals shining, he may still be able to tear through the gates of time. Hold up the orb." Tiamat commanded softly. Red Mage took out the last gray orb and held it up to the crystal. The two items immediately reacted to each other. The orb seemed to absorb all the light in the room, and the crystal began to spin faster until the entire room exploded with the light and gusts of the crystal. Red Mage could hear his friends behind him as they lifted their arms to shield their eyes. He could hear Tiamat's wings flap to shield both herself and him from the wind. And he could hear the guards speaking in worried tones, wondering if they should intervene. But finally, it all began to die down. The wind slowly faded, the light slowly burned down, and everyone began to look around the room, only to find it in complete ruin.

"Wow... that crystal... it gave off so much power..." Black Mage said, as he walked around the destroyed room. Even the throne room was damaged from the powerful winds. Red Mage looked at Tiamat and saw that her glasses had been crushed in the light.

"Tiamat... your glasses... are you able to see?" he asked. Tiamat, with an incredible look of happiness, nodded.

"Yes. The light restored my eyes. I can see even better now." she replied, and turned to the warriors, "You have saved me from a life of darkness. I am in your debt, gratefully. Is there any way I can help you?" Black Mage seemed to be considering his options, which Thief was sure was going to be a large amount of money. But it wasn't, to his surprise.

"An old bag like you shouldn't be moving much, so we can't take you with us..." Black Mage murmured, and snapped his fingers, "If you could tell us how to reach Chaos, that would be enough!" Thief and Red Mage looked over at Black Mage, impressed. Usually, he'd be complaining or asking for more than his share, but this time, he was actually being reasonable! Was that class change shining through again? Either way, the two surprised warriors were snapped back to attention as Tiamat spoke.

"Of course. The gates of time are located in the Temple of Fiends, I'm sure. They were in our time, so they might still be there now. Go there." Tiamat explained, and added, "And use the Lute of Light to shatter the barrier of time." Red Mage, who was walking out as Tiamat spoke, screeched to a stop and turned around.

"Tiamat, how did you know about the Lute? I thought only Princess Sara knew about it." he said. Tiamat grinned.

"Because that Lute is mine. Long ago, after I crossed the gates with Kary and Lich, I sealed up the gate's magic using that Lute, and gave it to the queen of Corneria at the time. I asked her to hand it down to her daughter, and to have her hand it down to generations to come." Tiamat replied, "That is how much we must work together. Even from the very beginning, I helped you." One by one, the warriors paid their respects to Tiamat before leaving the castle, by way of parachute from one of the guards. Before leaving, Red Mage turned around again and smiled at Tiamat.

"Thank you. Honestly. We would never have made it so far without you." Red Mage said, and jumped off the broken balcony, onto the lands far below.

When he landed, Red Mage knew he wasn't in the desert anymore. He also knew that wherever he was, the Temple of Fiends was quite close. To the left of him, Thief was busy making sure their supplies survived the plunge, and to the right, Black and White Mage were talking about something. He walked over to his fellow mages.

"How is everything? Did we all survive?" he asked. Black Mage, who had finished talking, looked at him and nodded.

"Just look around you. We're all okay." Black Mage replied, annoyed, "But something's still telling me this was a set up. Tiamat seemed a little too eager to help us."

"Either way, we need to stop Chaos. According to Tiamat, if we don't, it means the world." Red Mage said sternly, "And I do like living here." Thief, who had packed up all of their potions, held up a map and gave a shrill whistle.

"Guys, get this. One side of the Sky Castle overlooked the Pravoca plains! We're almost at Corneria, which is close to the temple!" Thief exclaimed. White Mage walked over and looked carefully at the map, and then at the bag of supplies. Even though everything had survived, their stock was getting bare. White Mage doubted that they even had 20 potions.

"Should we stop by Corneria and pick up some stuff?" she asked, "We'll definitely need some potions, and another sword for Thief won't hurt." Red Mage looked over the horizon towards Corneria continent. He could barely make out the castle from the distance, but he agreed a pit stop was best. Slinging the pack against his shoulder, Red Mage led the way towards the bridge as the sky began to darken with night. However, his cheerful mood faded when he smelled something burning across the bridge.

"Hey, does anyone else smell that too? Or is it just me?" Thief asked. Red Mage's brow deepened.

"I smell it too. Come on, let's go check it out." he commanded, and dashed across the bridge. Confused, the other three followed, and nearly choked on what they saw. Corneria was burning down, and smoke billowed out of every house, yard, and shop there. Red Mage took a step, and stopped when he saw the fire reflected off his sword.

"Who could've done this...?" White Mage asked, scooping up a handful of ash. Red Mage looked down.

"Chaos did... I'm sure of it." Red Mage said, "Tiamat said that he was trying to tear the gate open. Well, what if he has already?" Thief clenched his fists as he watched a house collapse in flames.

"Then let's not waste any more time. Let's go show that freak exactly who he's messing with." Thief said, through clenched teeth. Even Black Mage seemed shaken from the sight of Corneria being burned to cinders. They turned to the meadows, and saw that it was slowly becoming in just as worse a state. The grass wasn't green anymore, but rather an unsightly brown. Trees were destroyed, and the path was brushed away. Wolves were lying dead all around, and imps were scattered across the fields, either dead or unconscious.

"This... this is too much." Red Mage whispered, "Who knows how much damage Chaos has already done." Without thinking another thing, the four ran down the fields towards the temple, which was in ruins. But they began to notice that the area around the temple was unharmed.

"Wow, it looks like Chaos prefers a nice place to live too." Black Mage commented, as they slowed to a stop in front of the stone steps. Thief and White Mage looked on, but Red Mage was focused on who was waiting outside. It was none other than Matoya, along with Bikke, and Dr. Unne. Even Garland was there, though he looked very dazed. Red Mage walked over, Black Mage by his side.

"Matoya? What's going on? Why is everything destroyed?" Red Mage asked. The old witch looked at Red Mage, and he could see her frown widen.

"It is time. Chaos has arrived here..." she said, "Garland has seen him with his own eyes." Garland, who was sitting on a small box, got up and began to tell his tale.

"He was horrible. A massive creature... the head of a dark knight, but he was no human. He brushed me aside with a sweep of one of his wings." Garland said, "He went on to cause destruction, but after that, I passed out from sheer horror." Bikke spoke next.

"Argh, he came to Pravoca and started blowin' and howlin' at everything. He caused fires to ravage the land and all." Bikke said, and Red Mage noticed a tear in his eyes, "He burned me ship to ashes... and he took me Faris away for good." Red Mage looked down in sorrow, unable to find words to fit his feelings. But the bad news didn't end as Dr. Unne had something to say too.

"Melmond is completely level... there is nothing left." Dr. Unne said, "My lab... the clinic... even the Earth Cave was destroyed... all for his amusement." White Mage held back tears as she remembered Tiamat's words of Lich. He had helped them, he was another ally, and he was gone.

"So you see, quite a bit has happened. He's waiting for you, in the temple." Matoya said, "He's looking for you all. But luckily Gaia gave us a supply of their best weapons to hand to you. Unne here radioed his brother after reaching my cave, and everyone over in Gaia is on your side now." Bikke gave a hearty laugh.

"Argh, ye know what that means, don't ye? Take yer pick o' the weapons and send Chaos to Davey Jones's locker!" Bikke boomed. The four looked at each other, and began to choose their weapons. Thief chose the Sasuke and the Protect Cape. Red Mage chose the Sun Sword and the Ruby Armor. Both White and Black Mage chose the two Wizard Staves, and a protect ring each. After that, they fully loaded up on potions, and left with Matoya's blessing. Within minutes, they were walking into the temple, only to find it empty.

"Hello? Chaos? Are you in here?" Thief called, but didn't get a reply. He walked in a little further and called again, "Chaos?"

"Hmm... maybe he's hiding..." White Mage suggested, looking around the dusty room.

"_CHAOS! GET YOUR STINKIN' ASS OUT HERE!_" Black Mage yelled angrily, but even that had no results, "Where IS he?"

"...Tiamat said the gate was in here, so what if he's waiting for us in his time?" Red Mage asked, walking up to the altar where Garland once stood, "Sort of like a home field advantage?"

"But even then, where's the gate?" White Mage asked, leaning against a pillar. Black Mage moaned and kicked dirt.

"Awww, is this ANOTHER wild goose chase! Why now?" he complained, but Red Mage barely noticed as he stared at the throne. Something was wrong, yet he couldn't place his tongue on it. He walked up to the throne and pushed on it, but nothing happened. Thief watched with mild intrigue.

"RM, what's up? What're you doing?" he asked as Red Mage kicked at the throne.

"I think I found the gate. Something's not right with this throne. This has to be it." Red Mage said, "Stand back!" With that, he took out the Lute of Light, which Sara had given them so long ago. The other three ran back quickly as Red Mage held up the Lute to the throne.

"Let's hope this works... The more time we waste now, the more damage Chaos will do..."

---

Well, it's now or never for our heroes as they stand in the temple, right in front of the gate of time itself! What's on the other side? Is it Chaos? Or will another world unfold in front of our heroes? Was Tiamat really helping our heroes, or was it all a set-up like Black Mage believes? Either way, find out next chapter, so click that review button!


	28. Even MORE familiar stories and threats!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any FF games or 8-bit. I must say I enjoyed your support, but do not fear! This is NOT the last chapter, just one that's CLOSE to the last. Also, I DID get this done on the 27th, but I couldn't get it uploaded until today... sorry folks.

---

Only two hours had passed since Lulu entered the scene to aid Black Belt and Fighter in their battle against a horde of angered Oscars. And, within those petty two hours, Lulu managed to fry every single Mad Oscar with her Flare spells until nothing remained. Not even a tentacle was spared as Black Belt looked along the battlefield.

"Nice job! There's nothing left!" Black Belt exclaimed, "And look, some of the buildings were spared too!" He pointed to a group of five small houses in an area a little farther away than where they'd been fighting. Lulu flipped her hair.

"Naturally, that is the expertise I take in my work." she stated, sitting on a rock, "Now, do you require my assistance still?" Black Belt put down a small brick he was examining and looked towards Lulu.

"Nah, I think we'll be okay. The biggest problem will be finding everyone. They all seemed to scatter randomly." Black Belt replied, "I'll start looking. Thanks for your help, Lulu." With that, Black Belt had strolled off, leaving Lulu and Fighter in a very awkward moment. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes until Lulu scooted off of her rock.

"Well... I'll be going now... It was nice meeting you... I think." Lulu said nervously. She was about to dash off, but Fighter grabbed her arm.

"Wait! You don't have to leave yet! You can stay if you want..." he said quietly. Lulu looked back at him, and was about to cast another Flare spell, but decided against it when she saw the pitiful look on his face. She sighed.

"Fine... but what am I going to do?" she asked, plopping down on the rock again.

"You can keep me company as I tidy the place up for when BB returns!" Fighter said brightly, tossing a twig into the river. Lulu's sigh became much bigger as a sweatdrop rolled down her head.

"Fine. What shall we talk about then?" she asked, praying for the patience to put up with Fighter, or at least to not kill him. But Fighter proved to be intolerable, as always.

"Well, we can talk about swords! Do you use any?" he asked, and turned around, "Uh... Lulu? Where'd you go?" Unbeknownst to Fighter, Lulu had skillfully snuck off as he threw a bunch of sticks into the river...

---

"_WITH THIS ANCIENT LUTE, I UNLEASH THE GATES OF TIME!_" Red Mage roared, as the Lute grew brighter and brighter. Winds began to roar loudly, picking up the dust from all around the temple, and knocking down the weaker parts of the walls, allowing the darkness from the outside to seep in. Thief, Black, and White Mage had hidden behind an old pillar to shield themselves from the falling debris, but they prayed hard that Red Mage's strength could see him through the spell. For minutes on end, the wind raged and the light from the Lute continued to grow brighter, but the spell didn't end. Finally, someone spoke up when the light became too strong to see.

"How do we know this spell is working?" Black Mage asked, shielding his eyes as he searched for signs of his friends. Luckily, White Mage heard him, but the wind severely muffled his voice, and hers too.

"We must continue praying! I'm sure Red Mage has nearly unlocked the gate!" she called, and both Thief and Black Mage nodded. Thief put his hands together, and Black Mage closed his eyes. White Mage was muttering something.

"Come on, buddy. You're doing great... just a little longer." Thief said, hoping that somehow, Red Mage could hear him too. Inside his mind, he could hear Red Mage saying that he was almost done, and giving him the thumbs-up. But as Thief felt the wind tugging harder at his sleeves, he was beginning to think that maybe Red Mage was too weak for this magic. But eventually, when the wind and the light died down, Thief was relieved to see Red Mage still standing in front of what used to be the throne. Battered, and a little shaken, but he was still there. Thief practically ran up and hugged Red Mage.

"You're okay!" he exclaimed happily, "I thought that was too much for you, buddy, but you did it! What did it feel like?" Red Mage smiled weakly.

"It felt... numb... I can't explain it, but I didn't really feel anything." Red Mage said, "I just hope I did it right." Black Mage had walked up and looked at where the throne was.

"I think you did. Take a look, guys." he said. Right where Garland's throne once stood was a giant portal of darkness, that didn't seem to end at all. Mists of grey and purple swirled all around inside, covering a thick background of pure black, the purest black that anyone, even Black Mage had ever seen. Just the sight of such darkness sent shivers up their spines, to the point that a slight whimper escaped White Mage.

"Maybe... maybe we shouldn't go just yet..." White Mage hesitated, backing away, "What if we aren't ready?" Red Mage looked back at her, but the look on his face wasn't one of pity. It was of stern determination.

"You're questioning that _now_?" he asked, "We're literally a few steps away from Chaos, and you're just now starting to wonder if we're ready for it? It no longer matters if we are, White Mage. The fate of the entire world is in jeopardy. We can't question our strength now." White Mage's eyes watered at hearing Red Mage say this, but she knew he was right.

"I know... but Red Mage..." White Mage began to sob a little, "It's just... we're all friends... we've been together since day 1. The thought that we might die... it's unbearable. I can't think of losing one of you!" She threw her arms around Red Mage and cried, soaking his cape. Red Mage hugged her back.

"WM... this... we've been faced with near-death situations before, and you were never so upset. What makes this any different?" he asked calmly, "This is no different from Kraken..." Black Mage snapped his fingers angrily.

"Yes it is. Don't try to tell anyone that it isn't, RM." he snapped, "But you have a point. We've made a commitment to everyone in the world, and we can't go second-guessing ourselves. The question is not whether we're ready, but whether we have the willpower to actually believe we're ready. And I do." White Mage sniffled, and Thief patted her back.

"We'll be fine! I know it! We've been through loads of trouble, and we'll get through this!" Thief said encouragingly, "And maybe... maybe we can save Kary and Lich this time too." White Mage smiled.

"It would be nice to tell them how thankful we are..." she said.

"Right. So, let's go in there and save the world." Red Mage said. Thief cheered madly and jumped straight into the portal, followed by Black Mage, who was laughing insanely. White Mage was about to jump in when she looked back at Red Mage.

"...how do you know we'll be okay?" she asked. Red Mage shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I guess I just know." he said, and along with White Mage, jumped into the dark portal. The ride through time was smooth, but the darkness seemed to press up on everyone as though they were being squeezed through a tight tube. Flashes of the past and of the future flew by as they were sent through many different time zones. Red Mage saw the War of the Magi from 1000 years before, as Thief looked into the life of a great Paladin. White Mage saw a young man with an odd sword that seemed to double as a gun, and Black Mage muttered as he saw a cat-like creature with wings flutter by. Finally, though, the flashes thinned almost entirely as the darkness suddenly opened up into light. The four instantly felt the ground beneath them, and the room began to settle into their view. It was a dark little room, almost like one you'd find in a secret base. Controls littered one wall, as odd gadgets filled another.

"Where are we?" Thief whispered, looking around for any signs of other life.

"I don't know... but I hope we're in the right time..." Black Mage said, picking up one of the gadgets. It was a small blade, but there was a screen displaying numbers on it. He set it down, not wanting to disturb any more than he had to.

"The only way to know is to go and look. Come on." Red Mage whispered, and walked out of the room and into the hallway. He noticed that the floors and walls were all made of metal, but the view out the windows lining the hallway reminded him of the Sky Tower. In fact, he was pretty sure they were IN the Sky Tower!

"No way! So this is what it looked like 2000 years into the past? Cool!" Thief exclaimed, but Red Mage covered his mouth.

"Shhh! Someone's coming!" he hissed, and dragged Thief into a small dead end with Black and White Mage. They listened for whatever was coming, and was very surprised at who they heard.

"I cannot believe he would do this to us! We were to protect the crystals... not to unleash the end of the world! Has he lost it?" That voice belonged to Lich... or at least the Lich in the past. He walked right past where the four were hiding, and they saw Kary and Tiamat were with him. They stopped just ahead of the warriors.

"I fear he has been using us since the beginning..." Tiamat said sadly, "I fear, that in our attempt to save our world, Kraken used our greatest weaknesses to undo us."

"But there must be something we can do! I will not be killed!" Lich cried. Kary calmed him down before speaking.

"There is. There is a great flaw to Kraken's plans. He left a young man in charge of the crystals, and the young man isn't guarding them. If we take the crystals and hide them in the future with our orbs, Kraken cannot succeed." Kary explained, "And we will warn the four chosen ones of the plan, as well. But we must not be caught!" Tiamat seemed to love the idea, but Lich wasn't convinced.

"It is a good plan, Kary, but how will we keep this a secret? What if he's listening right now?" Lich asked. Kary looked around for any signs of a pool of water, even a drip from the ceiling, or some soda from a stray cup. When she found nothing, she continued.

"He isn't. Now, I have found a machine to take us into the future. Come, I'll explain the rest on the way there." Kary said, and with that, the three fiends walked further down the hall, leaving the four warriors to come out.

"So, that was the plan Tiamat was talking about..." Red Mage said to himself, as he walked out with Thief, "Well, at least we're in the right time..." Black Mage followed and looked around.

"But what do we do now? We still don't know where Chaos is!" he hissed, trying his best not to be heard be anyone except his friends. Red Mage let go of Thief and looked down both ways of the hallway. No one was coming, and he could see that Lich had just turned the corner far up ahead.

"We'll follow the fiends." Red Mage finally said, "They may not lead us directly to Chaos, but they might have more information on him... and whoever is working with Kraken." Everyone generally agreed that it was a good idea, so the four ran quietly down the hallway, making sure to keep a safe distance away from the three fiends, despite that they were on the same side. Lich pressed a button on what appeared to be a wall, and a secret elevator appeared, opening up. Together, the three fiends walked in and the doors shut.

"So much for that plan... they're gone now." Black Mage commented regretfully. Thief's eyes widened and he ran to where the elevator was, pounding on the wall.

"What? No way! Come back! Come on, help us out here!" Thief whined, but the elevator didn't return. Red Mage looked at the wall for a minute, and then at the button Lich had pressed. It was worth a try, so Red Mage pressed the button. For a minute, nothing happened, but then just as they had turned around, a small bell rang and the elevator appeared again. Thankfully, no one was inside. Red Mage ran in and held the door open.

"You all were saying? Anyway, get in. I can't keep this door opened forever." Red Mage said. The other three ran on quickly, and the door slammed shut. Down the elevator went, into what looked like the farthest reaches of the underworld, and once again, the elevator suddenly stopped. When the doors opened, the four were mercilessly thrown out into the grey-tiled room. Red Mage got up and sniffed around.

"RM? What's up?" Thief asked, when he noticed that Red Mage was looking slightly shocked.

"This... it smells like the Earth Cave in here..." Red Mage replied quietly, "Is it possible Lich is in here too?" Black Mage got up and dusted himself off.

"The only way to know is to go and look." Black Mage stated calmly, and walked towards the center of the large room. The walls made it seem like a maze, but the furniture stated clearly that it was a simple bedroom. There were small tables with flowers on them in the corners, and some lamps here and there. The most astonishing set was in the very middle of the room. It was fashioned much like a sitting room. There were three couches and a few chairs surrounding an old, but sturdy dining table. And, bent under the table, was Lich himself.

"Should we go and ask him what's going on?" Thief suggested in a whisper.

"What do you think? Can we honestly go "Hello, neighbor!" to a fiend?" Black Mage called back, in a huffy sort of tone. White Mage ignored him and walked gently towards Lich.

"Excuse me? Lich, sir?" she called. Lich was obviously surprised as he slammed his head on the table. He crawled out and shook his head angrily.

"Huh? Who's there?" he asked, and calmed down when he saw White Mage, "What in the...? YOU! You're the ones who made me explode into billions of pieces! While I'm glad you stopped Kraken, I learned explode was NOT one of my powers, and let me tell you it wasn't fun to experience it!" The four warriors were very shocked to hear Lich.

"Wait... you remember us?" Thief asked, "But we didn't exist in the past!" Lich gave him an odd stare, dusted off a couch, and sat down.

"That's true, but we fiends don't die. We simply get teleported back to the time we came from. It's hard to explain, but sit down. Tiamat already told me what's happened." Lich said. The four sat down, but a horrible thought crossed White Mage's mind.

"Wait... that means... Tiamat died?" she asked, sadly.

"No, no, no! We don't die, I say again!" Lich scolded, "But anyway, yes, she did pass. Actually, it was shortly after you left." Once again, another horrible thought crossed White Mage's mind, and apparently Red Mage had caught it too.

"Wait... if you all come back here... that means Kraken's back!" Red Mage exclaimed with fear, "Does he already know what's happening?" Lich gestured for him to settle down before explaining.

"Yeah, that old bottle of ink is back, but not to fear. He knows of our plans, but he doesn't know that you four are here. That measurement alone gives us three the fighting edge in our plan." Lich said, "Now I'm guessing you want to know more about the plan, eh?" Black Mage shook his head.

"Actually, we just want to know where Chaos is." Black Mage replied plainly, "Just tell us and we'll go and kick his ass." Lich drew back a bit in shock, and then simply laughed at what he just heard. His purple hair shook as he laughed.

"You? Defeat Chaos? That is a good laugh, boy." Lich commented, but then looked very serious, "But that won't be possible. Chaos is capable of total destruction once all of our powers merge together. He'll simply crush you all." He looked at each of the warriors, wondering if he'd changed their minds. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't. Thief, either out of courage or stupidity, asked the next question.

"What if you refuse to help Kraken? Why can't you resist?" Thief asked sternly. Lich, this time, drew back in hurt. He looked down sadly.

"What do you call our plan? Do you not think we've tried? Kary has died a total of seventy-four times, trying to resist Kraken. He has an edge over her, and simply kills her over and over." Lich explained, "And every time he does, his power grows." Black Mage simply shrugged.

"He was a freakin' pansy when we fought him." Black Mage concluded, "We'll crush him here if we have to." Lich practically slammed his fist on the table, outraged with Black Mage's ignorance and arrogance.

"You are a fool! He was lulling you into security! His true power is here, where our origins started. Did you not realize that? Do you not think!" Lich asked angrily, and tried to calm down, "...listen... If you truly wish to stop Chaos, you must hurry down to the final chambers. We didn't expect you soon, so we thought to use our own crystals, hoping we'd be faster than the last time we tried this. But it will be easier if you bring your own crystals. Go now, and speak to Kary. She'll practically dance to see you all." With that, Lich got up and helped the four to the lower staircase. He said his goodbye as they each passed, but Red Mage stopped before going down.

"Lich... I'm sorry for tricking you." he said. Lich bowed to show no hard feelings, and Red Mage ran to join his friends. Down on the lower floor, it suddenly grew very warm, and the walls were tinted with red, marking that this was definitely Kary's floor. In fact, Kary was right there, waiting in what looked like another parlor. Except... she was sitting in a small pool of lava. But like Lich had said, she beamed when she saw the four.

"Thief! White Mage! Black Mage!" she exclaimed happily, "You're actually here!" But for her, the biggest surprise was seeing Red Mage, at which she exclaimed, "Red Mage!"

"Kary! You're okay!" Thief called back, "I mean, Lich _said_ you were okay, but seeing you in the flesh is so much better!" Kary had slithered out of the lava, so the four warriors ran to hug her.

"It's been so long! Tiamat told us that you were coming, so we hoped to get everything set up for that time." Kary explained, "But tell me, how is your time?" Red Mage looked away sadly.

"Not good... everything's shrouded in darkness. Chaos is close to being resurrected, I can feel it." Red Mage said, "Lich told us you'd take us to him immediately, but..." Kary stopped him, and held up one hand.

"Then it's even worse than I feared. Let's go talk to Tiamat right now then. If anyone has anything to stop Kraken's plans, it would be her." Kary said, and led the four to yet another staircase leading downward. But this time the floor was empty, save for the large pools of water around. Everyone skillfully guessed that this was Kraken's floor, and they all were partly thankful that he wasn't around. Likewise, they also knew he was probably preparing to summon Chaos any second.

"So, I'm guessing that old ink stain is unleashing all hell as we speak?" Black Mage asked. Kary nodded, but she didn't look back as she spoke.

"Yes, he is. Now is the most vital of times to stop him, and we may have enough speed to do so with you all." Kary explained, slithering across the open room towards the other side, where another staircase lay, "Down here." They walked down the stairs and were greeted with a large room that looked vaguely like Tiamat's chambers back in the Sky Tower of present. And, like Lich, Tiamat was in the middle of the room, on her bed. She looked to Kary when she heard her.

"Kary? Is everything okay? You weren't nearly this fast in finding your crystal last time." Tiamat stated, and she sounded a little shocked. And then she saw the four Light Warriors.

"We have to hurry, Tiamat. Kraken's already grasping the future in darkness. These four have seen it firsthand." Kary replied seriously, "But I'm sure we can stop Kraken with their crystals as opposed to ours. But to do this in time, we need to distract Chaos." Tiamat got up off her bed and nodded with agreement.

"Yes, of course. Shall I explain the plan?" Tiamat asked. Every sat down to let her explain. "All right. The powers of the crystals are nearly unlimited, as you all know, but only the fiends can unlock this power. That is why we are of the elements. We are not normal fiends." Tiamat explained calmly. White Mage gasped.

"Of course! That's why the crystal of fire reacted only to Kary, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes. As such, only we can stop Kraken from resurrecting Chaos, but to do so, we need a distraction." Tiamat said. Black Mage sneered at her.

"Then why drag the four of us into it if you never had any intention of letting us fight? What's wrong? Don't think humans are strong enough?" Black Mage spat angrily. But Tiamat kept her temper.

"As I've said, only we fiends can unleash the powers of the crystals, so only we can seal them up as well." Tiamat replied calmly, continuing with her plans, "But there will be fighting for you all, much fighting in fact. For, you are the key instruments to the success of this plan. We need a distraction, and you all are it. You will be the ones to hold Kraken off while we seal the crystals up." However, Thief found the flaw in that plan.

"But how can you seal up the water crystal if Kraken's fighting us?" he asked. This time, Kary answered.

"We won't. Instead, I'll petrify it with my Break spell." Kary said simply, "With its current power, the water in the world is in perfect proportion for the amount of earth around. Petrifying it will leave it in its current state, and if the world became unbalanced, it will be simple to fix." Black Mage confirmed that what Kary said was true, and it all seemed like a good plan now. Tiamat walked into a corner of the room and came back holding a shining sword made of the strongest metal anyone had ever seen. It shimmered and glowed with the colors of the rainbow as light reflected off of it from Kary.

"Take this. This is the legendary sword, Masamune. It was forged with the very powers of the fiends, so it will be most effective against Kraken." Tiamat said, and handed it to Red Mage, "You have proven yourself time and again, Relik of the Red Mages. We have seen you take lead of your party, regardless of any danger." Everyone, even Black Mage, smiled as Red Mage took the sword. It felt amazingly light, yet he could also feel its power coursing through his very veins. Kary slithered up, a tear in her eyes.

"Red Mage... please be careful." she said, "You all need to be careful... Kraken will be over 100 times the power he was in your time..." Red Mage patted Kary's shoulder.

"We'll be fine." he reassured her, as Black and White Mage walked to the last staircase. They waited for the other two to say goodbye to both Kary and Tiamat.

"Don't worry! We'll kick Kraken's sorry shrimphole into the bucket!" Thief said, "But... this might be the last time we see you... so... goodbye, guys. Make sure to remember us if you make it to the 2000 year mark!" Tiamat laughed, and promised to do so.

"Try to visit us too!" Kary added as she waved. Red Mage promised her he would at least try, and the four walked down the stairs, preparing for the final battle.

"So... are they really going to do it?" Lich asked Tiamat, as he walked down the stairs. Every step he took rattled his bones. Tiamat nodded as she looked down the now empty staircase.

"Yes... now is the time of our success..." she replied, placing the crystal of wind on her altar, "Let's pray that they can do this."

"I know they can." Kary stated determinedly, "I know they'll give it their all..."

---

Well, now is finally the moment of truth. With only one battle left to wage, can our heroes defeat Kraken and stop Chaos's resurrection? Can Kary, Lich, and Tiamat seal the crystals within the time limit our heroes can buy? Or will Chaos be summoned, regardless of the efforts against it? Find out next chapter, so click that review button!


	29. Unexpected twists and hints of a pairing

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FF or 8-bit. Thanks for the support, everyone! I'm not sure if this is the last chapter, there's tons to cover, including the aftermath, but we're getting there.

---

"So, we've managed to destroy all of the Mad Oscars with Lulu's help, and now we need to get construction back on track!" Black Belt said, leading the group of fellow cameos along the road, "Thankfully the Oscars didn't destroy any houses, so we can just pick up where we left off!" He stopped as he walked into the city, only to find Fighter sitting there alone, looking for something he obviously couldn't see.

"Fighter? Is everything okay?" Sabin asked, walking up to him. Fighter nodded, but paid no further acknowledgement to the other man's existence.

"Well, yeah, but I can't find Lulu anywhere! She said she wanted to stay and talk for a while, but then when I started talking, she left!" Fighter exclaimed sadly. Zero put down his sword and looked around towards the unfinished restaurant.

"Maybe she just went to the bathroom or something." he suggested.

"Well, yeah, I thought that too, but she's been gone for over two hours! That's a lot of time to be going to the toilet." Fighter stated, and then gasped, "What if the poor soul has constipation?"

"I'd highly doubt that..." Black Belt said suspiciously, "Fighter, what exactly did you say to Lulu?" Fighter grinned a goofy grin as he answered.

"Well, I asked her if she liked to use swords! It seemed the best topic for conversation!" Fighter boasted proudly. However, a large drop of sweat rolled down Black Belt's head.

"ANYTHING involving swords seems like a good topic for everything you do!" Black Belt snapped in frustration, and turned to the rest of his crew, "All right, enough dilly-dallying. If we ever hope to get this town up, we'd better move now." With that, everyone except Fighter scrambled to get paintbrushes, chain saws, lumber, tiles, and flower seeds to finish construction...

---

Now was the moment of truth as the four heroes walked down the stairs, into the slowly darkening hallway. Every step seemed to be slower as they got closer to the final doors, and Red Mage felt his heart thump with every breath he managed to take. Any second, when they opened those cold stone doors, they'd be faced with a newer, stronger Kraken, and possibly even Chaos itself. But even knowing this, they marched forward.

"...so, this is really it?" Black Mage asked, when they came to a stop outside the door, "After all of our trouble, through these doors is where the last battle takes place?" White Mage looked at the doors as she spoke.

"It must be, unless there's something the fiends didn't tell us..." White Mage replied, "Though, it's still hard to believe... that even when we had to fight Lich, he was leading us to Kary all along, and through her, we found Tiamat and ended up here... It all feels so... planned." Thief patted White Mage's back.

"I know... but we can't go back and ask them. Now we gotta move, even if it means we die." Thief said sternly, and turned to Red Mage, who was holding the handle to the door, "Open it." Red Mage nodded, and began to pull on the stone doors.

"Here goes nothing." he said, and slowly, with enough force, the doors began to open. Light started to shine through, and for some reason it surprised everyone. As the doors opened more and more, Black Mage peered through and realized that the room was bathed in light, but whether it was natural or not wasn't known to him. Finally, the doors opened completely, flooding the hallway, and even the upstairs with light. The four ran in with their weapons drawn, but nothing was there.

"Uh... hello? Kraken? You in here?" Thief called, arching an eyebrow and looking in every corner he could. There were tables and chairs set up as though it were a cafeteria, and lights hung from the ceiling. The walls were a polished silver, and the floor reflected everything. But besides them, there were no signs of life.

"Stand still... he might be hiding." Red Mage commanded, and they did so. Minutes passed, but nothing stirred. Red Mage gently let his sword drop to his side, and walked over to a table to investigate. There were slight coffee drippings, and a few crumbs here and there, but unless Kraken was a cookies-and-milk kind of fiend, Red Mage doubted he even came through here.

"Well?" Black Mage asked.

"Nothing. There's some food, but it's not from Kraken..." Red Mage replied, sounding somewhat disappointed, "This is weird. If this is the final fight, where is he? And, what do we do until he gets here? Do we look for Chaos and stop him now or what?" He walked back to his friends, who'd taken seats at a small table in the corner. Black Mage urged him to sit down.

"Well... we could, but he might be waiting." Black Mage began, "So, I think we should rig the room in case he comes in." Thief grinned as an interested expression crossed his face.

"You sound like you have a plan, BM." he commented, folding his hands on the table. Black Mage nodded and took out a large fishing net.

"I do. See, I've noticed that Kraken can only attack at a close range. Therefore, if we can somehow immobilize him, we'll gain an upper hand." he explained darkly, laying the net on the table. White Mage looked at it skeptically.

"But with a simple net? BM, he might be too strong for it to hold him off for long." she stated. Black Mage gave a small laugh.

"I don't need it to last long. Just long enough for me to get a few spells in on him. Namely, Flare and Bolt3. RM, if you can, you should use Bolt3 too." Black Mage explained, "As for you, WM, you should focus on keeping us healed. If he gets a swing at us while trying to get out of the net, he could finish us." White Mage nodded, but Thief wrinkled his nose.

"What about me?" he asked, "I can't use anything above Bolt2, but that won't help much, will it?" Black Mage smiled.

"You're the most important part, Thief." he said genuinely, "Speed's the most crucial factor in my plan, plus you can run up walls too. Therefore, we need you to keep on the ceiling and hold the net, waiting for anyone to pass through that door over there." Black Mage pointed to a large double-door on the other side of the room, "Even if Kraken doesn't pop out, whoever does can be used as leverage. His pawns play the big part of bringing Chaos back, and with even one missing, it could mean his failure." Red Mage looked at the floor as he calculated the plan and considered everything into it. Finally, he smiled.

"Great plan. I can't see anything wrong with it." he concluded, and the four got up from the table, "Well, without further ado, let's get on with it."

About half an hour later, everything in Black Mage's plan was set up. He and Red Mage were behind the table closest to the door, and White Mage was farther away, but still within healing distance. Thief was on the ceiling, net in hand. Red Mage charged up a Bolt3 spell for quick casting, and Black Mage was preparing to do the same. They waited a bit, but it wasn't long before the doors opened and darkness greeted them.

"_THIEF, NOW!_" Red Mage yelled, and without a split second to spare, Thief dropped from the ceiling and threw the net on the unlucky victim. He thrashed about wildly, and both Black and Red Mage hit him dead on with two fully-charged Bolt3 spells. Thief continued with Bolt2, and the victim stopped. However, as they tiptoed to see their work, everyone was shocked to find that it wasn't Kraken that had walked through the door, but instead...

"Garland!" Black Mage shrieked, jumping back, "Idiotic, bumbling, princess-keeping Garland?" The armored knight dizzily stood up and his cape was fried to crisps as it fell off. He held his helmet to stop his head from spinning, and he looked at Black Mage.

"Yeah, that's me..." he said faintly, "Ow... why'd you attack me?"

"We thought you were Kraken." Red Mage replied plainly, "But what are you doing here?" Garland waddled over to a chair and plopped down.

"I'm not really sure. One minute I was running away from my temple before the roof crashed on me, the next minute, some scary... thing in a cloak is dragging me through this dark tunnel, mumbling about Chaos." Garland explained, though he sounded very confused, "Was that the guy you're looking for?"

"Depends. Did he have eight tentacles and smell like rotten fish?" Black Mage asked sarcastically, placing his hands on his hips.

"I don't remember..." Garland said. Red Mage sat down across from him.

"Garland, listen to me. This is important." Red Mage said, "We need to know exactly what happened between the time the world was covered with darkness to now. Can you recall that?" Garland thought for a minute before slowly nodding.

"Yeah, I can! Let's see... well, when I first saw the darkness on the horizon, I got on Ruby and flew to Cornelia to warn the king about it. But on the way back, I heard explosions from the temple. It wasn't ruined, so I went in, thinking that maybe one of the imps had cast a spell or something." Garland began, "But then all of the sudden there was this mighty blast of wind, and it began to shake the temple. Suddenly the roof began to fall apart, so I ran out. Thunder crashed, and a bolt nearly hit me. I fell into the ground, and then I heard this voice..." White Mage's eyes widened.

"A voice?" she asked, "What did it sound like?"

"I don't know, but I didn't trust it. It was dark, and it seemed to suck the very life out of you." Garland replied, shivering, "Anyway, he told me that it was my destiny to help him with something, and he helped me to my feet. But when I asked what he meant, he just started chanting these words... and this portal of darkness opened up. I went to ask what he said, and he just dragged me through. We saw everything through the passages of time... I saw ancient warriors, my own parents... I even saw the world when it was first created."

"What happened when you came out of the portal?" Thief asked. Garland sighed, rubbing his forehead as though he may have had a headache.

"After I came out... the man I was with led me through the hallway and down to this very room. He kept muttering something, but I couldn't even understand what he was saying." Garland began again, "Anyway, we walked through that door over there into the elevator..." At that point, Black Mage cut him off.

"Elevator? There's another floor down here?" Black Mage asked suddenly, clenching his fists. Garland gulped before nodding.

"Y-yeah... it's like a big control room down there. There were all these test tubes and buttons and devices. Anyway, once we got down there, the man let out a spooky laugh, sort of like what you'd hear if you were with the Grim Reaper, and he took off the cloak he was wearing." Garland said, and the four leaned a little closer, "He did have the head of an octopus, but he didn't tell me his name..." Red Mage looked over and Black Mage, and judging by the look on his face, they were thinking the same thing.

"Kraken..." they both said together. Garland nodded slowly.

"Yeah... anyway, I asked Kraken what exactly I was supposed to do, but he sent me up here to kill off the other three fiends. I asked why... and he said that they're trying to stop Chaos from being revived." Garland explained, "I asked Kraken what Chaos was, since I'm not sure of it myself, and he said that Chaos will save us from a lifetime of hatred." White Mage blinked as she slowly began to understand what Garland was saying.

"A lifetime of hatred..." she said slowly, "But Garland... Chaos is evil. He'll destroy the world if he's revived. Don't you know what he is?"

"Yeah! I know you're stupid, but are you really that stupid?" Black Mage asked, "All bringing Chaos back will do is get you killed." Garland, however, looked very confused.

"But Kraken told me that Chaos has the power of the four elements. He said that Chaos can help repair what he started. What you all stopped." Garland replied calmly, "He told me all about it. And he told me that water is the source of life. Without water, the earth can't get the nutrients it needs. Without water, rain will never fall."

"But what Kraken didn't tell you was that he plans to _drown_ the planet into water. He plans to destroy it to make it a haven for himself and himself only." Red Mage stated fiercely, "He... he killed my father just to further his own plans." Garland seemed to consider this, but he still didn't seem to understand the whole story.

"Wait... so, the whole thing about saving the world was a lie?" Garland asked, "But... he told me that Princess Sara wanted me to do this... was that also a lie?" Thief nodded sadly.

"You've been officially duped, buddy." Thief replied, patting Garland's back, "Sara's in danger right now from the darkness in our own time. She's the one who asked us to stop Chaos in the first place. She's the one who gave us the Lute to get here, even." Garland's eyes watered up as he looked at the floor in shame. He'd been so stupid, now that he thought clearly about what happened. He began to understand why the king had dismissed him so quickly as a soldier.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispered, "I've done nothing but cause trouble for Cornelia... for the entire world... ever since I was a kid. Even in my younger years, I used to get into so much trouble... I'd accidentally kill plants, I'd ruin someone's water... I once even accidentally drove my father's tractor into a factory and caused an oil spill..."

"Wow, you ARE an idiot." Black Mage commented, arching his eyebrows. White Mage, however, smiled comfortingly at Garland.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. Kraken would stop at nothing to achieve his twisted plans." White Mage assured gently, "Besides, it isn't too late to turn over a new leaf. As long as we're still breathing, there is hope for good." Thief gave the thumbs-up when Garland glanced at him.

"Yeah! You could help us kill Kraken and stop Chaos!" he added cheerfully. Tears still ran down Garland's face, but this time he was smiling.

"You... you mean it?" Garland asked, and everyone nodded, "Then... then I'll help! I'll finally prove myself to the world that I, Garland Fortesque, can be a soldier!" The five cheered happily as Garland took off his dark helmet to reveal a rather young man. His hair was a light brown, and his bangs were all spiked in different angles. His blue eyes shined with the deepest hope anyone had seen, and they knew it wasn't a mistake giving him a second chance.

"Then should we go kick Kraken's ass?" Black Mage asked. But Garland didn't move.

"No... there is one last thing I need to do." Garland said, "After I was dismissed from Cornelia, I turned to the darkness, thinking that all I could ever do was destroy. But if you said Chaos is a being of evil, then my darkness will only make him stronger. Therefore, I'm giving up for the light... I will become the light." Garland closed his eyes as he let the helmet drop and smash against the hard floor. As they looked, the heroes saw that every ray of light began to bend in order to envelop Garland in light. His black armor began to change color, from the black scales they became a beautiful white, and the dark gray edges shone gold. His cape, which was the darkest purple they'd ever seen, began to turn into a light blue, and to replace his helmet was a halo over his head. His dark sword turned into a light saber, which shone with the colors of the rainbow. And the transformation was complete. There, Garland stood as the soldier of the light.

"Whoa..." Thief gasped quietly, as the light slowly began to fade away, "You are one snazzy dresser." Garland chuckled, and walked to the door leading towards the elevator.

"I know. Anyway, now I can fight Chaos." he said, "Let's go." With that, Garland opened the doors to reveal a dark room, illuminated only by the flashing lights on the elevator. It opened up to let the five into its cold chamber, and before even a button was pressed, the doors slammed shut and the elevator zoomed into a lower level. The darkness became thicker as they went down, and soon it was all they could see until the elevator opened its doors again. A blinding flash of light welcomed the five, but it wasn't a light that made them comfortable. In fact, it blinded Red Mage and Thief, who were in the lead.

"I... _I CAN'T SEE!_" Thief panicked, as he walked into a wall. Garland helped him out and used a Lamp spell to cure him and Red Mage.

"It's okay. I should've warned you about that." Garland said apologetically, "Anyway, Kraken's this way." He led the group out of the room and through another dark corridor. Again, the only light was from the flashing buttons along the walls. It made Black Mage very uneasy as he walked down the halls. Finally, they'd reached the far end, where a lone door sat. And, even though the door was closed, the feeling of despair and hatred bled through it, making everyone shiver with fear.

"...he's through here. I can feel it." Garland said quietly, "Is everyone ready? And do we all know what to do?" Red Mage nodded.

"Yes. Garland, we'll fight Kraken. But we need you to stop whatever is keeping Chaos asleep for now." Red Mage told him. Garland nodded with complete understanding, and he pushed on the door. It swung open with amazing force, and it took most of Garland's strength to keep from falling over. They rushed inside, and it was as close to a final battlefield as anyone could've hoped. There was enough light to see everything, and as Garland had said, there were test tubes and devices on either sides of the room. In the very middle was a huge machine with a huge black orb on top, and inside the orb was a tall winged creature with huge bird talons. Its tail whipped around as though it was trying to break the glass. And in front of the machine was none other than Kraken himself, staring at the warriors. He cackled as they approached.

"So, I see you have made it to the party." he said darkly, "Very good. I expected nothing less from the Light Warriors. But you're too late if you think that you can stop Chaos. He's right in there, just waiting for me to press the button to release him." Kraken pointed up to the dark orb. The creature inside was pounding the glass in desperation, but Red Mage could see something in its eyes that he hadn't expected. It wasn't hatred. It was sadness. The creature was sad.

"We'll stop you." Red Mage said, "We'll fry you up as we did last time, and we'll save that creature." Black Mage snapped towards Red Mage in disbelief.

"Save it! Are you nuts?" Black Mage asked, his pupils becoming small dots, "That's CHAOS! It'll kill us!" Red Mage shook his head.

"No, it won't. BM, look at it. Look in its eyes. It's not trying to kill us. It wants to get out." Red Mage said calmly. Garland drew out his light saber.

"I can feel it. It doesn't want a fight." Garland added, and turned to Kraken, "What are you going to do? If that isn't Chaos, then who is it?" Kraken laughed.

"That is Chaos. But he is without the darkness inside of him. Once I press this button, his only need will be to kill everything in his path." Kraken explained, grinning, "But what does it matter? You still have me to contend with, and you'll be dead long before Chaos even makes it out the door." Red Mage drew his sword and growled fiercely.

"You sick monster! There WAS no Chaos, was there? You were just going to take an innocent life, no matter what it was, and infuse it with evil!" Red Mage yelled, his eyes beginning to glow red, "Chaos is simply the name of your plan, not the being you're going to make! I will not let another innocent life fall into your path! I, Relik of the Red Mages, will make sure you die at the mercy of my blade." White Mage, Thief, and Black Mage also drew their weapons. Kraken, who seemed unworried by the threat, threw back his cape and stepped forward.

"Then come at me with all that you've got!" he laughed, and the battle began. Before he could control himself, Red Mage threw a Bolt3 spell directly at Kraken, as did Black Mage. But it did nothing as Kraken warped out of the way.

"Damn it." Black Mage spat, looking around as Garland snuck behind a pillar to get to the large machine, "He's much faster now... but I'll slow him down! Slow2!" Immediately, small white clocks appeared near Kraken and he slowed down considerably. Thief, using his speed, dashed up and unleashed a fury of cuts from his daggers onto Kraken, and Red Mage used another Bolt3 in combination with slashing Kraken. White Mage watched Garland carefully to make sure he was okay. He was, after all, the most important part of the plan now. Black Mage immediately slammed a Flare spell into Kraken as Slow2's effects stopped, causing even more damage to the fiend. When the smoke cleared, he laid on the floor, his cape in rags.

"Did we get him?" Thief asked, when neither Kraken nor Red Mage moved. Red Mage inched closer to get a better look.

"It looks like we did, but..." Red Mage turned around to look over at Thief, and Kraken seized the minute to lurch up behind him. Thief gave a small scream, and soon Red Mage saw why as Kraken wrapped his eight tentacles around Red Mage and began to squeeze him like a plush.

"_RED MAGE!_" Thief and Black Mage both screamed as they saw him. Red Mage choked a bit, but he gestured to keep attacking. Thief took his daggers and tried to cut Red Mage free, but Kraken's muscles were as hard as stone. Black Mage hesitated at attacking, fearing his spell would kill Red Mage as well as hit Kraken, but what Red Mage said next confirmed what he had to do.

"Do... it..." Red Mage wheezed, "Kill... him... save... the world..." Black Mage nodded stiffly, and he let a tear escape his eyes as he saw Red Mage. He was in bad condition. His voice was raspy and his breaths were shallow. His skin was turning pale from lack of oxygen. Black Mage began to cast the one spell he knew would stop Kraken. And everything in that instant seemed to go so slow. Thief could barely move as Black Mage screamed...

"_ULTIMA!_" Black Mage said, until a snake's tail hit him on the face. He recoiled and saw Kary, "Kary! What are you doing? He'll kill Red Mage!" Kary looked at him.

"I know, but so will you, and I won't allow that." she said, and turned to Kraken, "Feel the wrath of my FLAMETHROWING ESCAPADE!" As she screamed the last part, flames blew up around Kraken, dancing around him violently. Shards of crystallized fire pelted Kraken, attempting to rip his tentacles apart.

"AGH!" he screamed, dropping Red Mage, whom Kary caught quickly, "Damn you, Kary! I should have known you'd try to stop me from killing him." Kary smirked.

"Then I guess you should be glad I trusted you for the while. It gave you a chance to explore my weakness... until now." She said, "As long as I have someone I care about, water can't hurt me. My heart burns too strong. Your power will simply turn to steam, like you will in one second." She slithered back with Red Mage in her arms as Kraken recovered only slightly from her attack.

"What do you mean?" Kraken croaked, and got his answer a minute later as, not only did Black Mage cast Flare, but it was joined with Holy, Bolt2, Bolt3, Fire3, Quake, and Ice3. All seven spells hit Kraken at once, and the sheer power began to destroy some of the walls. Kary could hear Kraken screaming, and although he couldn't see it, Red Mage knew Kraken was dying from all of the attacks. As the smoke cleared again, everyone opened their eyes and looked around the room. White Mage saw that now Tiamat and Lich were in the room, and realized that was where the Bolt3 and Quake spells came from. Garland panted heavily, and walked over to Kary.

"How is he?" Garland asked, referring to Red Mage. He was just starting to get his color back. Kary smiled.

"He'll be fine... but what of Kraken?" she asked worriedly, but Tiamat seemed cheerful.

"He's dead. For good this time." she replied simply, "He has no time to return to anymore."

"Does that mean our quest is over?" Thief asked. Red Mage stirred as he lifted himself out of Kary's arms.

"Not yet..." he said weakly, and heard a laugh from the hole in front of him. Kraken appeared again, ghostly, but still very much there.

"You bet it isn't, not by a long shot!" he cried, "In fact, I wish I could stay to see Chaos kill you all! Tiamat, you were foolish to go against me! Lich, you were a weak man, and in death you only became weaker! As for you four, I am happy to see you defeat me only to die at the hands of my creation!" And finally, he turned to Kary, "As for you, you weak little girl... it's sad to see you finally falling in love just to have him ripped from your very hands." Kary stiffened as Kraken laughed, until something caused his ghost to explode. Red Mage looked to see Chaos standing there.

"Chaos..." he said, leaning on his sword. Chaos nodded and spoke in a voice that was oddly gentle.

"Thank you all..." he said, "You freed me from Kraken's horrible plan... but there is still much to be done... You see, I am still an evil being now. We must fight." Black Mage threw his staff on the ground.

"_WHAT?_" he asked furiously, "But why? You don't even sound like you want to kill us!"

"Because I don't." Chaos said sadly, "But I cannot fight this darkness off forever. You must kill me. This is... how it must be. And I ask the three fiends to stay to the side." Obediently, the fiends walked towards the side of the room and sat to watch the final fight. Thief turned to Red Mage as White Mage healed him.

"You up to this, RM?" he asked. Red Mage nodded.

"Yes. We have to." he said, "Now let's go!" Chaos smiled and looked up into the now-revealed sky.

"May this fight end with grace."

---

Well, now it's the final fight between the Light Warriors and Chaos! Who will win? Will the world be saved even if Chaos can't be defeated? Was Kraken's plan to keep Chaos sane, even with the evil infused into him? And what of the fiends? Note that the next chapter is the final chapter, so to answer these questions, tune in next time and click that Review button!


	30. Final Fight: Aftermath

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, and I'd like to say thank you all. This is sadly the last chapter to the story, and it's a bit hard for me to write, but all good things must end eventually, right?

---

"Well, we've done all we can do now! If you ask me, the town looks marvelous!" Sabin said, as he stepped back. In only a few short hours, the town had been completed, and it looked even better than before. The houses were small and quaint, and the gardens gave the town a cheerful sensation. Fighter looked over to Black Belt.

"So, what should we name our new town, BB?" he asked, but Black Belt didn't answer, "BB?" Black Belt was looking into the sky, with deep concentration. Sabin looked over, and soon had the same worried expression Fighter was getting.

"Black Belt, is everything okay?" Sabin asked.

"I can feel it..." Black Belt replied, although he didn't look at either of them, "The final battle..."

"Final battle? You mean against Chaos?" Fighter asked, suddenly looking up as well, "This is good, right? I mean, this means they can save the world, right?"

"I'm not sure... but I can just feel it." Black Belt said. All of the crowds that were cheering suddenly stopped when they heard the name Chaos. One by one, each of them looked up into the sky, into the stars, and began to pray for the success of the Light Warriors.

"At least they'll have a home to come back to." Fighter said, "I just hope... they can win..." With that, he shut his eyes to pray.

---

"Are you all ready?" Chaos asked, as he walked towards one side of the room. The four heroes, and Garland, were getting into their fighting stances. Red Mage, however, looked worse than ever, even though his color had come back. But he didn't back down. Kary looked at him with worry, but knew better than to interfere.

"Bring it on." Thief said, grinning. Chaos nodded, and the fateful fight began. Thief and Garland charged over with their swords at the ready, but Chaos merely flew above them. He circled for a minute, and attempted to dive back towards them.

"FLARE!" Black Mage yelled, and Chaos flew into an explosion of flames, as Thief and Garland couldn't help but snicker. Lich also laughed, until Kary punched him in the gut. Chaos, meanwhile, had climbed out of the flames and dusted itself off.

"So, you find that funny?" he asked, panting a little.

"Yeah, but so was insulting Kraken." Thief replied, and ran out of the way as Chaos's tail swung under him. Thankfully he missed, and Chaos was now in the way of White Mage's Holy spell, which hit him dead on.

"Damn it! I fell right into that." Chaos snapped, flying into the air again. This time, he decided to take out the three mages first, and aimed a powerful blast of air at them. Red Mage managed to get White Mage out of the way, but he was too far away to help Black Mage, who skillfully avoided an attack.

"Ha! You missed!" Black Mage teased, until a recoiling blow hit him, causing him to fall over, "Ow..." Chaos laughed.

"You've learned rule numbers 1 and 2 of being evil. Rule 1? Always have a double attack. Rule 2? Never tell your enemy of said attack." Chaos said. Because he was laughing, he didn't see either Thief of Red Mage sneaking behind him until two large fireballs hit him in the back, causing him to yelp.

"Hey! What do you know! Chaos was right, those rules ARE evil!" Thief laughed, as Chaos tried to get up. He shook his large head and looked down at Thief and Red Mage, who shook a bit.

"That just wasn't fair! But then again, neither is this." Chaos said, and grinned as he cast Cure4, recovering all of his HP. Black Mage nearly blew his top.

"_WHAT?_" he roared, throwing down his staff, "That's so uncool! Now we have to do this all over again? Didn't you say you wanted us to win?"

"Yeah, but I'm also evil. I never said I'd _let_ you win. That, you'll have to do on your own." Chaos replied, trying to get into the air again. But suddenly he found he couldn't. He struggled for a bit as Black Mage laughed at him, and soon saw why. On his tail was a huge boulder, with Garland, Thief, and Red Mage near it. He put two and two together quickly after that.

"And you just learned MY rule! Don't get mad, just get moving!" Thief exclaimed cheerfully, indicating the boulder, "Or, in your case, don't get cocky, just keep going. Or you'll end up like this!" Chaos roared with annoyance, trying to break his tail free, but he wasn't strong enough. Kary looked to Tiamat.

"Is it me, or are they having fun?" she asked. Lich threw his hands in the air.

"Fun? How can they possibly have fun? This is the final battle. The fate of two worlds hangs here! How can anyone have fun with that kind of pressure?" Lich asked, his brow deeply furrowed. Tiamat smiled warmly.

"Because, on the inside, Chaos wasn't the problem. Kraken was, and he's already gone. This is more of a goodbye than a battle." Tiamat stated, as Chaos suddenly broke free. He soared towards the center of the room and flapped his wings.

"All right, playtime is over. Now to get serious!" Chaos exclaimed, "FLARE!" A burst of fire appeared near Red Mage, and Garland quickly pushed him out of the way. But suddenly, hundreds of little bursts of flames appeared, and it was much harder to dodge.

"What the hell?" Black Mage asked, practically jumped around to avoid getting burned, "Why is he doing this?" Thief, who had the agility, ran along the walls to avoid the flames.

"You can't reach me here, can you?" Thief asked, "Sadly, I can still do THIS!" He leapt off the wall and kicked Chaos on the back, which shocked the demon. The flames stopped, and Chaos turned around to get at Thief. That gave Black and White Mage enough time to get both Flare and Holy going. Both did extreme damage when they hit, too. But even then, Chaos still looked unharmed. Unfortunately, the stress of two tough battles finally looked as though it was taking its toll on the warriors. Red Mage was so shaky, he was ready to collapse. White Mage was breathing heavily, unable to stand without her staff. Black Mage's cloak was burned at the edges, and Thief managed to fall over.

"It was a nice try. I applaud you." Chaos said, sadly, "But applause won't do anything. You cannot defeat me. You're too weak as it stands." Kary looked down, closing her eyes tightly. She didn't want to see anyone die.

"We're... not giving up..." Red Mage said, coughing a little.

"But you can barely stand. Who do you have to fight me?" Chaos asked, and got his answer as a sword cut right through his wings, slicing both off as though they were made of warm butter. Chaos screamed as Garland leapt out and landed in front of the Light Warriors.

"They have me." Garland said, "I will fight you." Everyone, even Chaos, looked completely shocked by this. But Garland looked more determined than ever now.

"All right. You will be the last stand..." Chaos said, "As I see it, neither of us can stand another attack. Therefore, whoever is standing after this... wins." Garland agreed, and rushed off towards Chaos, with his sword ready. Likewise, Chaos charged at Garland, and from then, everything became slow again. Garland leapt off the ground, soaring through the air as his sword shone with every color imaginable. Chaos dashed forward, though it seemed as though he were going in slow motion as his body emitted a red glow. Sword met demon, and the blast came almost instantaneously. Every noise became muffled, and everything seemed numb. For a painfully long moment, no one knew what was going on, until...

Garland stood to the center as the smoke cleared. His armor gleamed with light, and his sword was still glowing, although it was cracked. Behind him, Chaos's body was ripped to pieces from the force of both attacks. Everyone looked, but no one could believe what they saw. Chaos was gone, and Garland was the victor. Red Mage dropped his sword and ran over, followed closely by his friends, and then the three fiends.

"You did it! You actually won!" Thief yelled, hugging Garland, "You're a hero!" Even Black Mage gave Garland a pat on the back as the smoke from Chaos's destroyed body cleared. But what really got Garland's attention was the ghost hovering above him. It was Chaos, in a human form.

"Good job. You've finally saved the entire world." Chaos said calmly, "I'm very glad I got to fight you all. I've never had such a fun fight in my life!"

"Wait... but... you look human..." Red Mage said, tilting his head, "Aren't you a demon?"

"Sort of. I can maintain human form, but because of Kraken, my figure was distorted into a demonic shape." Chaos replied, "Anyway, as a final parting gift, I'll restore the future and make your home the way it was." With that, Chaos waved and slowly disappeared. Tiamat took out a small orb and gazed into it. After a few minutes of silence, Lich finally broke it.

"Tiamat, what are you doing? We have work to do! We cannot stare into the orb of Wind!" he snapped, crossing his arms. Kary slithered behind Tiamat to look into the orb, and gasped.

"By the fires... you should see this!" Kary exclaimed, and White Mage ran over to look. Red Mage and Thief followed in a minute, and giving up with logic, Lich and Black Mage looked into it too. It showed the world in the future, and it was beautiful again. The black skies became bright and blue, the raging waters became calm, and the dead land flourished with grass and foliage. Even the sun seemed to be burning brighter.

"Whoa! Chaos actually restored the world!" Thief exclaimed happily, as the orb showed a brief flash of Bikke and Matoya, who were waiting outside the Temple of Fiends with Princess Sara, "You know... now that I think about it... this quest seemed almost pointless..." Tiamat looked at him sharply.

"Pointless? How can you figure? You've saved the world!" she said, readjusting her glasses. Thief took off his ninja hood, his blonde hair flopping down.

"What I mean is, everyone we thought to be a threat ended up helping us. Bikke, the Sahagins, even Chaos. Even you three came to our aid!" Thief explained, "But it seems like the quest was so long when our only true target was Kraken himself."

"But if you hadn't fought so many battles, you wouldn't have been able to win." Kary explained, "See, all monsters, even to the smallest of imps come from this time... and we all formulated the plans to stop Kraken..." As Kary explained, flashes of their monstrous friends ran through the heroes' minds, "One by one, we went to look for the warriors, to train them, to teach them. We all went against Kraken until it was safe to return here." White Mage suddenly looked very upset.

"But... if Kraken is gone... does this mean you're all going to leave?" White Mage asked. Tiamat patted her head with a dragon claw.

"We'll always be here. But this is our home, dear. We shouldn't be in your world." Tiamat said, as White Mage wiped away the tears coming down her face. Kary smiled, though Red Mage saw her eyes watering up.

"You can always visit us." she said. However, Lich stepped in.

"But then we need someone to stabilize the gates! They can only hold for so long." Lich replied, pointing to the machine Chaos was once in, and everyone saw that it was actually a gate into another time. But it also looked to be in horrible shape, no doubt from Kraken's use. Thief tensed up.

"So then this is goodbye?" Thief asked, "But... but can't Garland stabilize the gates with his power?" Garland looked down in guilt.

"I... I used the last of the Light Knight's powers to finish Chaos..." he murmured.

"That, and Garland has earned the right to live his own life." Tiamat added, looking specifically at Red Mage, "However... we need someone of true technological talents. In order to make this work, we must split this time from yours, and turn it into a separate world for the gates to connect to. Only a true master of technology can do something so grand." Red Mage blushed slightly, realizing Tiamat meant for him to stay. Kary beamed.

"Will you?" she asked. Black Mage stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Wait a second! What about us? What about his friends?" Black Mage spat, a look of anger crossing him, "You're actually suggesting he leaves?"

"You all can visit me whenever you want..." Red Mage said, and Thief's smile faded, as did White Mage's, "But... I think my place IS here. My dad worked with the fiends before me... please, understand... if I do this, the world can truly have peace with demons and monsters." Thief began to smile again, and high-fived Red Mage.

"Well, buddy, whatever you choose, I'm behind you all the way!" Thief exclaimed, giving Red Mage the thumbs-up. White Mage smiled too, though the look of depression was still on her face.

"I support you too, Red Mage... but just make sure to visit us a lot." White Mage added. Black Mage walked over to Red Mage, and took off his hat. His black hair fell to the ground, and his grin was a mile wild.

"Well, at least try to write to us." he said, and looked at Kary, "And if you happen to have kids or anything, maybe a wedding, be sure to invite me. I always cry at those things." Red Mage blushed heavily as Tiamat, Lich, and Thief laughed at the comment. Kary looked away in embarrassment as White Mage smiled brightly.

"Well, buddy... this is goodbye..." Thief said, and the four heroes hugged each other. Red Mage looked at each of his three friends.

"Don't worry. Goodbye isn't forever." he said, as the other three Light Warriors walked towards Garland, who kept the door into time open. He waved goodbye, and kept waving until his friends disappeared into the fabrics of time. Then he turned towards the three fiends... his new friends.

"Let's go. There's a lot of work to do, and we need as much precious metals as we can get to stabilize this world." he said, and they walked outside.

---

"WAAAAAH!" White, Black Mage, and Thief were thrown out of the time chamber rather harshly, only to be greeted with a warm sky, and Matoya. Black Mage jumped up and shook his head, only to look around and shake his head again, just to make sure he saw correctly. And he did. The temple was gone. The walls had been worn away with time, and only grass grew in its place.

"...where the hell is the temple?" Black Mage asked, looking around again. Matoya chuckled as she adjusted her hat.

"Well, now isn't that a question we all would like to know." she said plainly, walking up to Black Mage, "It seems your bout with Chaos _did _affect time. The temple simply vanished, as did many of the monsters in the world." White Mage looked up into the sky.

"So then that means that everything's okay..." she said quietly. Princess Sara and Bikke ran into what used to be the courtyard.

"Thank the heavens you all survived!" Princess Sara said, slowing down, "I was worried that maybe you wouldn't make it... Garland?" At that moment, Garland had stumbled out of the gates of time, but his armor had turned back into its black self. He nodded.

"Hello, Princess Sara." he said, "Are you all right? Did anything hurt you?"

"No, but how on earth did you get inside your temple? I was sure you evacuated." Princess Sara replied, shocked. Garland looked as though he wanted to say something, but Thief managed to cut in.

"Well, it's a long story, princess, but let's just say that without Garland, we wouldn't have won." Thief stated, patting Garland on the back, "He's a true hero." Princess Sara beamed.

"Is that so? We must tell my father immediately!" Sara exclaimed, and began to run towards Cornelia, but Bikke stopped her.

"Hold on there, lassy. I want ter know what happened ter yer friend thar. Red Mage?" Bikke said, looking at White Mage. She looked down, unable to find the words to explain what happened without bursting into tears.

"He... he decided to help the rest of the fiends repair the gates of time..." White Mage said, so quietly that Bikke almost couldn't hear her. Matoya looked into her crystal ball.

"So, someone will finally set us free from this loophole?" she asked. Thief looked at her.

"Loophole? What loophole?" he asked, very surprised at how angry he suddenly seemed.

"The loophole that allowed the fiends to come here at all. I'm guessing that whoever created Chaos severely damaged the fabrics of time, which was why this world was affected even though Chaos hadn't truly awoken yet." Matoya explained, "And it explains why Sara had gotten that lute." Black Mage rolled his eyes.

"Oh, does it even matter? Look, we saved the world, so let's go talk to the king and get our reward!" Black Mage cried, stomping towards the town. As they all walked closer, crowds of people had begun to gather to welcome the heroes. They were especially happy to see Garland, and the guards near the castle even talked to him before letting him in. All through the castle halls, people rushed past, asking to see the heroes. It was only when Matoya locked the doors to the upstairs that everyone found some peace. Princess Sara led the way into the throne room, where the King sat.

"Father, we've returned. Chaos was defeated!" Sara announced. The king nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Did I... Did I hear you correctly, dear daughter?" he asked, "Did you say that Chaos is gone?" Princess Sara nodded.

"Yes, father! These brave warriors stopped whoever created Chaos..." Sara began, "But it was Garland who truly defeated him! He has saved us all!" Garland blushed a bit as he heard the excitement and happiness in Sara's voice. The king stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Garland...? I did not expect such deeds to be done from you! But nonetheless... have you proof of your victory?" the king asked. Thief and Black Mage turned to Garland, who reached into his back pocket.

"I have nothing, sir... just a piece of cloth...?" Garland took out what he thought was a cloth, but it was actually the legendary sword, Excalibur. It shown with every color imagined, but a note flew out of it. The king snatched it and looked at it.

"To Garland... here is the proof that you have succeeded the greatest deeds of all. I give you the sword that pierced my very heart from the Light Knight you merged with. The Excalibur..." The king turned to Garland, "From Chaos..."

"Well, there's your proof." Black Mage grumbled simply, "Now, do we get anything or not?" The king looked to Black Mage, but he seemed distracted with what he just read.

"Yes... yes, of course. Heroes, I give to thee, the ancient relics my family has held onto for years. To you, White Mage, I give you Solomon's Staff. Black Mage, I entrust the Magus Rod to you. And Thief... The legendary Sasuke is now yours." The king said, as three guards came in with three shining weapons. The respective new owners took them gratefully. Princess Sara turned to her father again.

"And what of Garland?" she asked.

"Yes. Garland, I ask you to once again join my legion of knights to guard Cornelia." the king said. Garland bowed.

"Thank you, sir. I won't fail you again." Garland replied happily, then turned to Sara, "But... there is one thing I must ask." The king sighed, as though he was very exhausted.

"Well, what is it?" he asked. Garland knelt down.

"Princess Sara... I've loved you since I first came to Cornelia... ten years ago." Garland began, "I ask, will you do me the honors of marrying me...?" Everyone jumped back slightly, shocked from Garland's proposal. Princess Sara blushed madly, and smiled.

"Yes. I will marry you." She said. Garland smiled as Sara hugged him, and everyone cheered again. The very next day, the wedding took place. It was a grand festival, with lots of dancing. Thief and White Mage even gave blessings to the newlyweds, as Black Mage ate most of the food. And, when the celebrations were finally through, the king sent them all on a boat back to their new destination.

"Be sure to visit us!" Sara called, waving as the heroes sailed to a familiar homeland...

---

"And that's exactly what happened." Black Mage said, as he sat in the bar with Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, and White Mage, "Of course, we'll be going back to visit soon, but for now, we'll let them get accustomed to married life." Fighter whistled.

"Wow. That's one awesome adventure! It makes me wish I'd have gone with you." he replied, "Though, I'm glad I didn't have to see Red Mage leave..."

"How do you think he is, anyway?" Black Belt asked, sipping a beer, "It's been over a year and we haven't heard anything. Think he's still alive?" Thief chuckled.

"I doubt Kary would let anything happen to him." he assured, "I'm sure he's busy with the gate and all." At that moment, a young man passed the table and put the group's mail down. Thief picked it up and looked at it. There were two bills, a letter from Princess Sara, another letter from Bikke... and another from Red Mage. Curiously, Thief opened the letter, as the four read it behind him. It was a simple note, but the writing was clear as the crystals had been, and it answered everything the five had been wondering about their long lost friend.

"Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't written for so long, but I've been busy. The gate's been up for two months, and I won't be surprised if you're mad for not telling you. Anyway, there is something on the back that I think you all should read. It concerns the next time you visit." Thief looked on the back of the letter, and everyone smiled warmly at the only six words written.

"Kary and I are getting married."

---

And so, the heroes finally completed their quest. So ends the fantastic tale of the Light Warriors. Thank you all again for the support you've given them, and make sure to review on the story. As for Red Mage and Kary... who knows? That's for you all to figure out! So click that Review button!


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